Sheldon  &  Company's   Text- Books. 

PHYSIOLOGIES. 

Hooker' 8  First  Book  in  Physiology.   For  Public  Schools. 

Hooker's  New  Physiology.  Revised,  corrected,  and  put 
into  the  most  perfect  form  for  text-book  use.  By  J.  A.  Sewall, 
M.  D.,  of  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University. 
A  few  of  the  excellencies  of  these  books,  of  which  teachers  and  others  have 
spoken,  are :  1st.  Their  clearness,  both  in  statement  and  description.  2d.  The 
skill  with  which  the  interesting  points  of  the  subject  are  brought  out.  3d.  The 
exclusion  of  all  useless  matter;  other  books  on  this  subject  having  much  in 
them  which  is  useful  only  to  medical  studeuts.  4th.  The  exclusion,  so  far  as 
is  possible,  of  strictly  technical  terms.  5th.  The  adaptation  of  each  book  to 
its  particular  purpose,  the  smaller  work  preparing  the  scholar  to  understand 
the  full  development  of  the  subject  in  the  larger  one.  6th.  In  the  larger  work 
the  science  of  Physiology  is  brought  out  as  it  now  is,  with  its  recent  important 
discoveries.  7th.  Some  exceedingly  interesting  and  important  subjects  are 
fully  treated,  which,  in  other  books  of  a  similar  character,  are  either  barely 
hiuted  at  or  are  entirely  omitted.  8th.  These  works  are  not  mere  compilations, 
but  have  the  stamp  of  originality,  differing  in  some  essential  points  from  all 
other  works  of  their  class.  9th.  In  beauty  and  clearness  of  style,  which  are 
qualities  of  no  small  importance  in  books  for  instruction,  they  will  rank  as 
models.  10th.  The  subject  is  eo  presented  that  there  is  nothing  to  offend  the 
most  refined  taste  or  the  most  scrupulous  delicacy. 

PALMER'S  BOOK-KEEPING.      ■ 

The  Elements  of  B<%>L- Keeping,  embracing  single  and 
double  entry,  with  a  great  variety  of  examples  for  practice, 
with  Key  and  Blanks.     By  JosEPn  II.  Palmer,  A.M. 

All  the  principles  are  clearly  stated,  fully  illustrated,  and  extensively  ap- 
plied in  a  great  variety  of  examples  in  every-day  life,  for  practice  in  Book- 
keeping, 

Palmer's  Blanks  to  do.    (5  numbers). 
Palmer's    Practical    Pool- Keeping.      By    Joseph     II 
PALX9B,  A.M.,  Instructor  in  New  York  Free  Academy.     IJnio. 

1(57  pilars. 

Blank*  to  do.  (Journal  and  Ledger), 
Key  to  do. 


Sheldon  <b  Company's  TextSooks, 


BULLIONS'S 

ENGLISH,   LATIN,   AND    GREEK, 

ON  THE  SAME  PLAN. 
CAREFULLY  REVISED  AND  HE-STEREOTYPED. 

BITZZIONS'S    SCHOOL    GRAMMAR 

This  is  a  fall  book  for  general  use,  also  introductory  to 

BULLIONS'S  NEW  PRACTICAL  GRAMMAR 

EXERCISES    IN    ANALYSIS,      COMPOSITION    AND 

PA  USING.    By  Prof.  Jambs  Cruikshaxk,  LL.D.,  Ass't  Sup't  of 

Schools,  Brooklyn 

This  book  is  supplementary  to  both  Grammars. 

BULLIONS  &  MORRIS'S  LATIN  LESSONS 

BULLIONS  &  MORRIS'S  LATIN  GRAMMAR 

B ULLIJNS'S  LATIN  READER.    New  edition 

B  ULLIONS'S  CMSAR  ;  with  Notes  and  Lexicon 

BULLIONS'S  CICERO,-  with  Notes 

These  books  contain  direct  references  to  both  Bullions' s  and  Bui 
lions  &  Morris's  Latin  Grammars. 

BULLIONS  &  KENDRICK'S  GREEK  GRAMMAR 

KENDRICK'S  GREEK  EXERCISES,  containing  easy  Read- 
ing Lessons,  with  references  to  B.  &  K.'s  Greek  Grammar,  and  a 

Vocabulary .• 

j^gp"  Editions  of  Latin  and  Greek  authors  with  direct  references 
to  these  Grammars  and  Notes  are  in  preparation* 

HULLIONS'S  LATIN-ENGLISH  &  ENGLISH-LATIN 
DICTIONARY,  the  most  thorough  and  complete  Latin  Lexicon 
of  its  size  and  price  ever  published  in  this  country 


"  Dr.  Bullions's  system  is  at  once  scientific  and  practical.  No  other  writer 
on  Grammar  has  done  more  to  simplify  the  science,  and  render  it  attractive." 
-National  Quarterly  Review. 

"Dr.  Bullions's  series  of  Grammars  are  deservedly  popular.  They  have 
received  the  highest  commendations  from  eminent  teachers  throughout  the 
country,  and  are  extensively  used  in  good  schools.  A  prominent  idea  of  this 
series  is  to  save  time  by  having  as  much  as  possible  of  the  Grammars  of  the 
English,  Lai;in,  and  Greek  on  the  same  plan,  and  in  the  same  words.  We  have 
taught  from  these  Grammars  successfully,  and  we  like  their  plan.  The  rules 
ana  definitions  are  characterized  by  accuracy,  brevity,  and  adaptation  to  the 
practical  operations  of  the  school-room.  Analysis  follows  etymology  and  pre- 
cedes syntax,  thus  enabling  the  teacher  to  carry  analysis  and  syntax  along  to- 
gether. The  exercises  are  unusually  full  and  complete,  while  the  parsing-book 
airnishes,  in  a  convenient  form,  at  slight  expense,  a  great  variety  of  extra 
drill.    The  books  deserve  the  success  they  have  achieved."— Illinois  Teacher. 


GIFT  OF 
Philip  McCombs 


EDUCATION  DEFT. 


/i  y 


j&  map  of  Britain  at  the  clone  of  the  sixth  century ,  shoninr/  the  distribution 
of  its  Celtic  and  Teutonic  population . 


FUk  A  See,  K.T. 


ENGLISH    AND    AMERICAN    LITERATURE. 


SHAW'S   NEW  HISTORY 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE; 


TOGETHER    WITH 


A     HISTORY     OF 

ENGLISH   LITERATURE  IN  AMERICA, 

BY    TRUMAN    J.     BACKUS,     LL.D. 

FORMERLY     PROFESSOR     OF     ENGLISH     LITERATURE     IN     VASSAR    COLLEGE, 
NOW    PRESIDENT    OF    PACKER    COLLEGIATE    INSTITUTE. 


REVISED       EDITION. 


SHELDON      AND     COMPANY, 

NEW    YORK    AND    CHICAGO. 
1887. 


SHAW'S  SERIES  ON  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN 
LITERATURE. 

SHAW'S  NEW  HISTORY   OF  ENGLISH    AND  AMERICAN 
LITERATURE.      Revised   Edition. 

SHAW'S  CHOICE  SPECIMENS  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE 

CHOICE  SPECIMENS  OF  AMERICAN   LITERATURE.     Bv 
Prof    B.  N.  Martin,  D.D,  LLD. 


Copyright,  Sheldon  &  Co,  1875—1884 

7ht  t 


out  A  PM£U 


Smith  A   KoDoOSAL, BUOMOTYMM. 


ontdEent 


PART     I. 

CHAPTER     I. 

Ma 
INTRODUCTORY 17 

CHAPTER     II. 
ENGLISH  LITERATURE  BEFORE  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST....     28 

CHAPTER     III. 
FROM  THE  CONQUEST  TO   GEOFFREY  CHAUCER 35 

CHAPTER     IV. 
GEOFFREY  CHAUCER 40 

CHAPTER     V 
THE  CONTEMPORARIES  OF  CHAUCER... 57 

CHAPTER     VI 
FROM  CHAUCER  TO   SPENSER 63 

CHAPTER     VII. 
THE  NON-DRAMATIC  ELIZABETHAN  POETS 75 

CHAPTER     VIII. 
THE  DAWN  OF  THE  DSAJM  87 

M55961 


Vl  CONTENTS.  * 

CHAPTLR     IX. 

MM 

WILLIAM  SHAKESPEARE 98 

CHAPTER     X. 
THE  SHAKESPEAREAN    DRAMATISTS 116 

CHAPTER     XI. 
THE  PROSE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  ELIZABETHAN  PERIOD 127 

CHAPTER     XII. 
THE  SO-CALLED  METAPHYSICAL  POETS 143 

CHAPTER     XIII. 

THEOLOGICAL  WRITERS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  COM- 
MONWEALTH    150 

CHAPTER     XIV. 
JOHU  MILTON 15A 

CHAPTER     XV. 
THE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  RESTORATION 172 

CHAPTER     XVI. 
THE  CORRUPT  DRAMA 193 

CHAPTER     XVII. 
THE  PHILOSOPHERS  AND  THEOLOGIANS  OF  LOCKE'S  TIME. .    199 

CHAPTER     XVIII. 
THE  ARTIFICIAL  POETS   OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 211 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER     XIX. 

PAGB 

PROSE  WRITERS   OF  THE  FIRST  HALF.  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH 

CENTURY ,..! 227 

CHAPTER     XX. 
THE  FIRST  GREAT  NOVELISTS 249 

CHAPTER     XXI. 
HISTORICAL  WRITERS  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 259 

CHAPTER     XXII. 

ETHICAL,  POLITICAL,  AND  THEOLOGICAL  WRITERS    OF  THE 

LATTER  HALF  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 265 

CHAPTER     XXIII. 
THE  DAWN  OF  ROMANTIC  POETRY 277 

CHAPTER     XXIV. 
WALTER   SCOTT ••     299 

CHAPTER     XXV. 

BYRON,    MOORE,    SHELLEY,    KEATS,    LEIGH    HUNT,  LANDOR, 

HOOD,  BROWNING 309 

CHAPTER     XXVI. 
THE     LAKE     SCHOOL  —  WORDSWORTH,     COLERIDGE,     AND 

SOUTHEY 32? 

CHAPTER     XXVII. 
THE  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY..  338 

CHAPTER     XXVIII. 
THE  MODERN  NOVELISTS 371 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PART      II. 
ENGLISH    LITERATURE    IN    AMERICA. 

FAGB 

INTRODUCTORY 389 

CHAPTER     I. 
THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD 392 

CHAPTER      II. 
THE   REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD 408 

CHAPTER     III. 

THE  NATIONAL  PERIOD 413 

■» 

CHAPTER     IV. 
WASHINGTON  IRVING  AND  THE  KNICKERBOCKER  WRITERS. .  418 

CHAPTER     V 
WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT  AND  THE  EARLY  POETS 426 

CHAPTER     VI. 
NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE  AND   MINOR  NOVELISTS 486 

CHAPTER     VII. 
JAMES  RUSSELL   LOWELL  AND  THE  HISTORIANS 440 

CHAPTER     Vlll. 
EMERSON  AND  THE   CONCORD  SCHOOL 446 

CHAPTER     IX. 
THE  ETHICAL  NOVELISTS  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  WRITERS  OF 

PROSE  AND  VERSE 450 

CHAPTER     X. 
WHITMAN,  MILLER,  BRET  HARTE,  AND  RECENT  HUMORISTS.  .  4M 

CHAPTER     XI. 
SCHOOLS  OF  CONTEMPORARY  AMERICAN  FICTION 461 


R  EFfI'©  E  * 


TO     THE     FIRST      EDITION 


rpHOMAS  B.  SHAW'S  Outlines  of  English  Literature, 
-L  rewritten  by  William  Smith,  LL.D.,  and  published  as 
A  Complete  Manual  of  English  Literature,  has  been  held  in 
high  esteem  by  American  teachers  during  the  last  ten  years. 
While  its  merits  haye  been  recognized,  its  defects,  too,  have 
been  discovered.  The  work  was  intended  by  its  American 
publishers  to  be  used  in  colleges  only,  but,  owing  to  the 
want  of  a  more  suitable  text-book,  it  has  come  into  exten- 
sive use  in  high-schools  and  academies.  In  order  to  meet 
the  criticisms  of  teachers  who  have  introduced  it  into  these 
schools,  a  thorough  revision  of  the  Manual  has  been  made. 

In  the  revision  I  have  attempted, — 

(1).  To  improve  the  logical  arrangement ; 

(2).  To  correct  the  lack  of  unity  in  several  chapters; 

(3).  To  simplify  the  style. 

Mr.  Shaw  sought  "to  render  the  work  as  little  dry — as 
readable,  in  short — as  is  consistent  with  accuracy  and  com- 
prehensiveness ";  but  his  abounding  use  of  relative  con- 
structions and  his  involved  sentences  defeated  his  purpose 


X  PREFACE. 

to  some  extent;  for  they  defied  the  patience  of  many 
students.  In  endeavoring  to  present  the  topics  in  a  clearer 
style,  it  has  been  necessary  for  me  to  rewrite  many  of  the 
chapters. 

As  compared  with  the  Manual,  the  peculiarities  of  this 
volume  are, — 

(a).  A  fuller  discussion  of  the  "  Old-English  "  and  "  Mid- 
dle-English "  literatures; 

(b).  An  assignment  of  prominent  positions  to  the  most 
famous  writers ; 

(c).  A  free  use  of  short  and  striking  quotatious  from  the 
works  of  the  keenest  English  and  American  critics — in 
some  cases  inserted  in  the  text,  in  others  given  as  foot- 
notes, and  in  others  placed  at  the  head  of  a  chapter,  for  the 
purpose  of  inciting  the  student  to  a  more  curious  and 
appreciative  reading  of  an  author ; 

(d).  A  collection  of  references  to  the  best  collateral 
readings  upon  the  topics  considered  ; 

(e).  The  use  of  a  few  simple  diagrams,  intended  to  aid 
the  student  in  remembering  important  classifications  of 
authors ; 

(/*).  The  omission  of  authors  who  have  not  contributed 
to  the  historical  development  of  our  literature. 

It  will  be  observed  that  several  essays  in  this  volume  arc 
printed  in  b  oonepicuoui  manner.  A  reason  must  be  given 
for  this  innovation  upon  the  usual  typography  of  text- 
books. Among  teachers  of  English  literature,  there  is  a 
growing  conviction  that  much  time  is  wasted  in  the  class- 


PREFACE.  XI 

room  by  attempting  to  learn  about  too  many  authors. 
Such  an  attempt  is  dissipating  to  the  mind  ox  the  student, 
and  is  most  unsatisfactory  to  the  teacher.  Wherever  the 
students  can  have  access  to  a  good  library,  it  will  be  found 
to  be  the  most  profitable  use  of  the  time  generally  allotted 
to  this  subject  to  have  them  study  brief  biographies  of  the 
few  authors  who  have  wielded  potent  influence  over  our 
thought  and  our  language,  to  have  them  read  the  best 
criticisms  upon  these  authors,  and  the  best  passages  from 
their  works.  With  this  plan  in  view,  the  essays  on  Chaucer, 
Spenser,  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  Milton,  Dryden,  Pope,  Swift, 
Addison,  Johnson,  Goldsmith,  Burns,  Scott,  and  Byron, 
have  been  printed  in  the  most  attractive  manner;  refer- 
ences have  been  furnished  to  judicious  criticisms  of  their 
works,  and  to  choice  specimens  of  their  writings.  This 
peculiarity  of  the  book  has  not  been  allowed  to  disturb  the 
orderly  presentation  of  a  general  outline  of  the  history  of 
our  literature. 

Following  Mr.  Shaw's  plan,  I  have  refrained  from  dis- 
cussing the  lives  and  works  of  English  authors  who  are 
now  living. 

Throughout  the  volume  references  are  made  to  Professor 
Shaw's  Choice  Specimens  of  English  and  Professor  B.  N. 
Martin's  Choice  Specimens  of  American  Literature.  The 
black-faced  figures  (1)  refer  to  the  sections  in  these  books. 


TRUMAN  J.    BACKUS. 


V  ass  Ait  College, 
August  29, 1874- 


/|V      ^ 


TO    THE    SECOND     EDITION 


IT  has  given  me  pleasure  to  comply  with  the  request  of 
fellow-teachers  by  enlarging  this  History  of  English 
Literature  so  that  it  includes  discussion  of  the  lives  and 
writings  of  eminent  English  men  of  letters  who  have  died 
since  my  former  revision  of  Shaw's  Manual  of  English 
Literature  was  made. 

The  generosity  of  the  publishers  in  giving  the  book  new 
type  has  made  it  possible  for  me  to  make  changes  through- 
out the  text.  I  have  used  my  opportunity  by  introducing 
heavy-faced  side- headings,  by  inserting  much  new  matter, 
by  giving  summaries  at  the  close  of  chapters,  and  by 
desirable  rearrangements.  The  amendments  are  intended 
to  promote  the  adaptation  of  the  book  to  the  uses  of  the 
class-room — a  quality  for  which  it  has  received  much  kindly 
commendation. 

The  sketch  of  English  Literature  in  America,  new  with 
this  edition,  is  presented  in  compliance  with  a  general 
demand  from  teachers.  Difficulties  attend  any  treatment 
of  the  subject,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  perspective. 
Within  brief  limits  I  have  endeavored  to  give  something 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

more  than  a  catalogue  of  names  and  dates;  in  short,  to 
direct  the  student's  attention  to  all  characteristic  literary 
expressions  of  the  American  national  genius.  Many 
worthy  names  have  been  omitted  or  slightly  touched, 
because  their  fame  belongs  to  the  history  of  special  periods 
rather  than  to  the  main  outline  of  literary  growth.  This 
is  the  less  to  be  regretted,  inasmuch  as  the  excellent  cyclo- 
pedia of  the  brothers  Duyckinck,  generally  found  in  school 
libraries,  will  give  ready  aid  to  more  extended  study. 
While  my  plan  of  selection  and  classification  may  clash  in 
some  particulars  with  the  preferences  of  my  fellow-teachers, 
I  hope  that  they  will  find  it  consistent  in  itself  and 
sufficiently  comprehensive. 

In  the  revision  of  this  work,  my  recent  assistants  in  the 
Department  of  English  Literature  at  Vassar  College  have 
placed  me  under  obligation  for  most  valuable  help  in 
matters  demanding  careful  and  scholarly  research. 


T.  J.  B. 


The  Packer  Collegiate  Institute, 
Brooklyn,  N.   Y.,  April,  I8S4. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


CHAPTEH  t. 

I  NTRO  D  U  CTO  RY 


IN  their  literary  inheritance,  the  readers  of  the  English 
language  are  the  richest  people  that  the  sun  shines  on. 
Their  novelists  paint  the  finest  portraits  of  human  char- 
acter, their  historians  know  the  secrets  of  entrancing 
description  and  of  philosophical  narration,  their  critics  have 
acumen,  their  philosophers  probe  far  into  the  philosophy  of 
mind,  their  poets  sing  the  sweetest  songs.  But  before  be- 
ginning a  discussion  of  the  lives  and  the  works  of  the  great 
men  who  have  contributed  to  the  riches  of  our  literature,  it 
is  well  for  us  to  remind  ourselves  of  the  long  centuries  of 
ignorance  that  passed  over  England  before  her  nationality 
and  her  language  were  developed. 

The  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  British  Islands  were 
of  that  Celtic  race  which  once  occupied  a  large  portion  of 
Western  Europe.  They  were  savages ;  they  neglected  agri- 
culture, they  had  no  cities,  they  had  no  laws,  and  by  tat- 
tooing and  staining  their  bodies  they  gave  infallible  proof 
of  their  barbarism. 

The  first  important  intercourse  between  the 
Do  B.  L.J  primitive  Britons  and  any  foreign  nation  re- 
sulted from  the  invasion  of  the  country  by  the  Romans 
under  Julius  Caesar.  The  resistance  of  the  Britons,  though 
obstinate  and  ferocious,  was  overpowered   by  the  Roman 


18  THE    CELTS    IN    ENGLAND. 

.irmies  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era.  The  centra) 
and  southern  portion  of  the  country  became  a  Roman  prov- 
ince, and  was  subject  to  foreign  domination  for  more  than 
three  centuries.  According  to  their  custom,  the  invaders 
strove  to  introduce  their  civilization  among  the  barbarous 
subjects.  T;i'j  Celts  who  yielded  became  enervated ;  those 
who  were  unsubdued  inhabited  mountainous  regions  inac- 
cessible to  the  Roman  arms,  and  frequently  descended  from 
the  rugged  fastnesses  of  Wales  and  Scotland,  carrying  terror 
to  the  more  civilized  provinces.  The  withdrawal  of  the 
Eoman  troops  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  left  the 
Celts  wTho  had  submitted  to  the  yoke  in  a  desperate  position. 
Swarms  of  northern  Celts  came  upon  them,  to  reclaim  the 
territory,  and  swept  away  every  trace  of  civilization.  Many 
ancient  legends  tell  of  the  vengeance  wreaked  upon  the 
Celts  who  had  bowed  to  the  Roman  invader. 

Traces  of  the  Celtic  element  in  the  English  language  are 
found  only  in  the  names  of  places,  and  in  the  titles  of  a 
few  familiar  objects.  In  the  vocabulary  of  one  hundred 
and  four  thousand  words  given  in  Webster's  Unabridged 
Dictionary,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  one  hundred  derived 
directly  from  the  Celtic.  That  most  of  the  words  to  which 
the  lexicographer  assigns  a  Celtic  origin  were  not  in- 
herited from  the  old  Britons  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  (hey 
are  not  to  be  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon.  They  were  trans- 
planted from  the  Celtic  into  some  Romance  tongue  and 
thence  were  grafted  into  modern  English.  The  aboriginal 
speech  of  Britain  has  bequeathed  to  us  less  than  any  other 
language  with  which  our  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  been  asso- 
ciated. Nor  did  the  Romans  who  held  dominion  over  Brit- 
ain  contribute  many  words  to  our  speech.  The  multitude 
of  our  Latin  derivatives  were  brought  bo  our  language  in 
a  later  century.  A  few  geographical  words  in  this  Brito- 
Roman  period  were  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  face  of  the 
country.     They  have  survived  invasions  and  revolutions, 


THE    TEUTONIC    INVASION.  19 

and  stand  amid  the  modern  names  as  venerable  monuments 
of  a  mysterious  age.  Thus  the  termination  don,  as  in 
"London/  is  the  Celtic  word  "dun"  a  rock  or  natural 
fortress;  the  termination  caster  or  Chester  is  a  memorial 
of  the  Roman  occupation,  indicating  the  spot  of  a  castrum 
or  fortified  camp ;  and  the  last  syllable  of  Lincoln  indicates 
a  Roman  colonia. 

The  Teutonic  Invasion.  The  foundations  of  the  laws  and 
language  of  the  peoples  who  speak  Modern  English  were 
laid  between  the  middle  of  the  fifth  and  the  middle  of  the 
sixth  century.  Piratical  adventurers,  crossing  the  North 
Sea  from  the  bleak  shores  of  Jutland,  Schleswig,  Holstein 
and  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic,  gradually  established  them- 
selves in  those  parts  of  Britain  which  the  Romans  had  occu- 
pied. The  mountainous  districts  of  Wales  and  Scotland 
successfully  resisted  their  invasion.  The  level  and  more 
easily  accessible  portion  of  Scotland  was  gradually  subdued 
by  them,  and  their  language  was  established  there  as  well 
as  in  South  Britain.  Possessing  a  physical  organization  less 
powerful  than  that  of  the  Teutonic  invaders,  and,  perhaps, 
having  an  inferior  moral  constitution,  the  degenerate  Celts 
gradually  disappeared  from  the  presence  of  the  superior  race. 
The  absorption  or  destruction  of  this  nation  was  in  accord- 
ance with  what  seems  to  be  an  inevitable  law  regulating  the 
result  of  close  contact  between  two  unequal  nationalities. 
That  law  is  operating  in  our  own  land  to-day,  as  it  forces 
the  North  American  Indians  to  the  certain  issue  of  their 
conflict  with  the  same  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

The  English  nation,  then,  had  Teutonic  parentage.  The 
language  spoken  by  the  Saxon  invaders  was  akin  to  the 
modern  Dutch ;  and,  like  the  people  who  spoke  it,  was  of 
strong  vitality.  For  a  long  time  the  colonization  of  Britain 
was  carried  on  by  detached  Teutonic  tribes.  After  two 
centuries  of  struggle  they  grouped  themselves  into  several 


20  THE    DANISH    INVASION. 

827.  j  independent  governments,  known  in  history  as  the 
Heptarchy,  or  Seven  Kingdoms.  In  827  these  were 
all  made  subject  to  Wessex  (the  country  of  the  West  Sax- 
ons) and  there  was  at  last  the  prospect  of  a  rapid  and 
vigorous  national  development.  But  the  union  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  tribes  was  hardly  effected  before  the  Danes 
invaded  the  country  in  large  numbers,  gained  sovereignty 
over  much  of  the  territory,  and  endeavored  to  subjugate 
the  Saxons  as  thoroughly  as  the  Saxons  had  subjugated 
the  Celts.  By  the  heroism  and  wisdom  of  the  illustrious 
Alfred,  this  threatening  catastrophe  was  averted.  The  two 
fierce  races,  nearly  allied  in  origin,  were  amalgamated  in  a 
union  which  did  not  materially  change  the  language  or  in- 
stitutions of  the  country.  Still,  in  certain  localities,  as  in 
the  north  and  east  of  England,  and  along  the  coast  of 
Scotland  where  the  Danish  colonies  were  established,  evi- 
dent marks  of  the  Scandinavian  occupation  are  found  in  the 
idioms  of  the  peasantry,  and  in  the  names  of  families  and 
places. 

1066.]  The  Effect  of  the  Norman  Conquest.  Towards  the 
close  of  the  eleventh  century,  William  the  Con- 
queror, by  his  victory  in  the  battle  of  Hastings,  brought 
Englishmen  under  Norman  rule.  The  most  important, 
changes  resulting  from  this  conquest  were  the  establish- 
ment in  England  of  the  feudal  tenure  of  land,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  chivalric  spirit,  and  the  separation  of  society 
into  two  great  classes,  a  foreign  nobility  and  a  discontented 
people,  England  was  made  the  property  of  unfriendly  for- 
eigners; the  Saxon  thane,  the  friend  and  companion  of  his 
humbler  fellows,  was  superseded  by  the  arrogant  and  op- 
pressing Norman  baron. 

The  Normans  who  settled  in  England  were  a  mixed  race. 
Early  in  the  tenth  century  piratical  Scandinavians  made 
conquests  of  territory  in  the  north  of  France,  ultimately 


THE    NORMAN    INVASION.  SI 

wrested  from  the  degenerate  sons  of  Charlemagne  the  whole 
of  the  province  which  has  since  borne  the  name  of  Nor- 
mandy, held  the  conquered  people  in  subjection  by  means 
of  the  feudal  system,  and,  with  slight  modifications,  adopted 
the  French  tongue.  The  gradual  blending  of  these  two 
races  produced  the  Norman  nationality.  Its  culture  was 
expressed  in  literature,  in  the  delicacy  of  ornament,  in 
architecture,  in  oratory,  and  was  far  superior  to  that  of  any 
other  European  nation  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Its  refinement 
was  equaled  by  its  valor.  When  this  cultivated  people  in- 
vaded and  conquered  England,  they  found  their  subjects 
illiterate,  without  social  culture,  given  to  coarse  dissipation, 
and  determined  to  treat  the  victors  with  unyielding  hatred. 
That  hatred  was  reciprocated.  For  two  centuries  the  Nor- 
man swayed  the  tyrant's  sceptre,  the  Saxon  yielded  unwill- 
ing homage.  Nor  was  there  any  disposition  to  blend  inter- 
ests and  sympathies  until  the  Norman,  exiled  from  Nor- 
mandy, came  to  consider  himself  an  Englishman,  not  a 
foreigner  in  possession  of  English  soil. 

Their  Influence  upon  the  Language.  But  it  is  in  the 
effects  of  the  Norman  Conquest  upon  the  English  language 
that  we  are  interested.  The  speech  which  the  Norman 
invaders  brought  to  England  was  one  of  two  closely  related 
dialects  of  the  Romance  languages,  and  was  known  as  the 
Langue  d'Oil  in  distinction  from  the  other  which  was  called 
the  Langue  d'Uc.  These  names  were  derived  from  their 
differing  words  for  yes.  The  line  of  demarcation  between 
them  nearly  coincided  with  the  Loire.  They  were  both 
results  of  the  decomposition  of  the  classical  Latin.  That 
ancient  language,  in  the  process  of  its  decay,  lost  nearly  all 
its  inflections ;  the  relations  of  words  were  expressed  by  the 
more  frequent  use  of  prepositions. 

After  the  Conquest,  the  Norman  trouveres,  poets  who  wrote 
in  the  Langue  d'Oil,  and  the  poets  of  the  sister  dialect,  the 


22  THE    NORMAN     INVASION. 

troubadours,  were  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Court  in  Eng- 
land. They  furnished  literature  for  the  readers,  and  so 
wielded  potent  influence  over  English  thought  and  lan- 
guage. They  displaced  the  English  Gleeman,  crowding  him 
into  the  society  of  the  humblest  people. 

The  Norman  Conquest  was  not  such  as  a  civilized  nation 
makes  of  a  nation  of  barbarians.  The  subjugated  people 
were  not  exterminated,  nor  were  they  diminished  by  con- 
siderable numbers,  nor  were  they  driven  from  their  country. 
They  remained  upon  their  native  soil.  The  change  which 
the  Conquest  brought  to  them  was  merely  a  change  in  the 
administration  of  the  government.  They  were  left  in  pos- 
session of  traditional  customs  and  speech.  With  few  excep- 
tions their  conversation  was  with  each  other,  almost  never 
with  the  foreigner.  Their  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  remained, 
modified  only  by  the  abandonment  of  a  few  individual  *  ords, 
and  by  the  adoption  of  other  individual  words  from  the 
Bpeech  of  the  conquerors. 

The  extent  and  rapidity  of  such  modifications  depended 
upon  the  numbers  and  social  condition  of  the  immigrants. 
These  immigrants  were  the  royal  family,  the  nobility,  the 
churchmen  and  the  army.  There  was  no  mass  of  common 
people  whose  station  would  compel  them  to  mingle  with 
the  despised  Saxons.  The  royal  family  used  the  Nor- 
man speech,  and  continued  to  exert  every  influence  in  its 
favor  until  the  fourteenth  century.  There  was  no  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  king  or  of  his  court  to  understand 
the  language  of  the  subjects;  the  nobles,  under  the  system 
of  feudalism,  needed  not  to  talk  with  those  whom  tiny- 
oppressed;  the  churchmen  were  satisfied  with  their  et 
astioal  benefices  without  understanding  the  confessions  of 
humble  worshipers ;  and  the  military  forces,  trained  to 
consider  themselves  as  men  placed  on  guard  against  the 
discontented  and  dangerous  Englishmen,  did  not  seek  com- 
panionship  with  them.     These  circumstances  were  unfavor- 


THE     FUSION     OF    THE     LANGUAGES.  23 

able  to  changes  in  the  form  and  structure  of  the  English 
language.  The  mutual  repulsion  of  the  two  races  con- 
tinued for  a  century;  then  followed  a  century  of  seeming 
indifference ;  but  in  the  third  century  after  the  Conquest  all 
classes  of  people  were  united  by  their  common  interest  in 
the  foreign  wars  of  England. 

Blending  of  the  Norman  and  the  Saxon  Speech.     In  the 

fourteenth  century  the  languages  began  to  coalesce  rapidly, 
and  the  English  language  and  the  English  nationality  were 
evolved  from  the  social  confusion  which  attended  the  first 
centuries  of  the  Norman  occupation.  The  language  re- 
mained Germanic  in  its  grammatical  character,  but  it 
received  such  large  accessions  of  French  words  as  to  change 
its  sound  when  spoken,  and  its  appearance  on  the  page. 
According  to  Hallam,  the  change  was  brought  about, — 1st, 
by  contracting  or  otherwise  modifying  the  pronunciation 
and  orthography  of  words ;  2d,  by  omitting  many  inflections, 
especially  of  the  noun,  and  consequently  making  more  use 
of  articles  and  auxiliaries ;  and  3d,  by  the  introduction  of 
French  derivatives. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  IvanJwe,  Walter  Scott  has  given  an 
illustration  of  the  peculiar  significance  of  the  names  of  ani- 
mals as  applied  by  Saxons  and  Normans,  and  has  shown 
that  our  language,  as  we  speak  it  to-day,  indicates  the  servi- 
tude of  the  Saxons.  He  introduces  Gurth,  a  Saxon  swine- 
herd, and  Wamba,  a  jester. 

« '  Why,  bow  call  you  those  grunting  brutes  running  about  on 
their  four  legs  ? '  demanded  Wamba. 

"  '  Swine,  fool,  swine,'  said  the  herd  ;  '  every  fool  knows  that.' 

"  '  And  swine  is  good  Saxon,'  said  the  jester;  '  but  how  call  you 
the  sow  when  she  is  flayed  and  drawn  and  quartered,  and  hung  up 
by  the  heels  like  a  traitor  ? ' 

"  '  Pork,'  answered  the  swineherd. 

" '  I  am  very  glad  every  fool  knows  that,  too.'  said  Wamba,  '  and 
pork,  I  think,  is  good  Norman-French;    and  so  when  the  brute 


24  THE    NORMAN    INVASION. 

lives,  and  is  in  charge  of  a  Saxon  slave,  she  goes  by  her  Saxon 
name ;  but  becomes  a  Norman,  and  is  called  pork,  when  she  is 
carried  to  the  castle-hall  to  feast  among  the  nobles;  what  dost  thou 
think  of  this,  friend  Gurth,  ha  ? ' 

"  '  It  is  but  too  true  doctrine,  friend  Wamba,  however  it  got  into 
a  fool's  pate ! ' 

"'Now  I  can  tell  you  more,'  said  Wamba,  in  the  same  tone; 
'there  is  old  Alderman  Ox  continues  to  hold  his  Saxon  epithet 
while  he  is  under  the  charge  of  serfs  and  bondsmen  such  as  thou, 
but  becomes  Beef,  a  fiery  French  gallant,  when  he  arrives  before 
the  worshipful  jaws  that  are  destined  to  consume  him.  Mynheer 
Calf,  too,  becomes  Monsieur  de  Veau  in  the  like  manner ;  he  is 
Saxon  when  he  requires  tendance,  and  takes  a  Norman  name  when 
he  becomes  matter  of  enjoyment. 

The  fusion  of  the  Norman  and  Saxon  languages  was  not 
effected  until  the  fourteenth  century.  From  that  time  until 
the  present,  our  English  speech  has  been  extending  its 
vocabulary,  casting  off  local  and  dialectic  peculiarities, 
abandoning  old  inflections,  and  more  thoroughly  blending 
its  component  elements.  But  despite  the  influence  of  lan- 
guage upon  national  character  and  the  destructive  processes 
of  time,  the  English  people  have  preserved  two  distinct 
types  of  character.  The  Norman's  adherence  to  the  laws 
of  caste  and  his  conservatism  are  still  displayed  by  the  aris- 
tocracy of  England  j  while  the  democratic  spirit  of  the  old 
Saxon  is  seen  in  the  open-hearted  hospitality  of  the  English 
commoner,  and  in  his  resolute  ambition  to  obtain  the  fullest 
rights  of  citizenship  for  all. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered : — 

1.  The  Aurh'tit  Inhabitants  of  Britain. 

2.  The  Teutonic  Invasion* 

.?.  The  Norman*  and  their  Invasion. 

4.  Nornnni  Influence  upon  ih<>  "English  Language* 

5,  The    Biending  of  the    Norman    and    tlie    Saxon 
Speech* 


A  CHART  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LITERATURE 

DISCUSSED    IN    THIS    VOLUME. 


OLD 

ENGLISH 
LITERATURE. 


POETRY. 


■  i 


MIDDLE 

ENGLISH 

LITERATURE. 


PROSE 
WRITERS 


POETS. 


PROSE 
WRITERS. 


Beowulf. 

Caedmon's  Paraphrase  of  the  Psal^ts. 

King  Alfred. 

The  Saxon  Chronicle. 

The  Venerable  Bede. 

Layamon. 
Orm,  or  Ormin. 
Geoffrey  Chaucer. 
William  Langlande. 
John  Gower. 
Thomas  Occleve. 
John  Ltdgate. 
James  I.  of  Scotland. 
The  Old  Ballad  Writers. 

Sir  John  Mandeville. 

Geoffrey  Chaucer. 

John  Wycliffe. 

William  Caxton. 

The  Writers  of  the  Paston  ■letters. 


MODERN 

ENGLISH 

LITERATURE. 


POETS. 


of  Surrey. 


PROSE 
WRITERS. 


Of  the  first  half  (  John  Skelton. 

of  the        \  Henry  Howard,  Ear 
16th  Century.  {  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt. 

The  Non-dramatic  Elizabethan  Poets. 
The  Elizabethan  Dramatists. 
The  Metaphysical  Poets. 
John  Milton. 
Samuel  Butler. 
John  Dryden. 
The  Corrupt  Dramatists. 
The  Artificial  Poets  of  the  18th  Century. 
The  First  Romantic  Poets. 
Walter  Scott. 

Byron,   Moore,   Shelley,   Keats,    Campbell, 
Hunt,  And  Landor. 
»  The  Lake  School. 

(  Sir  Thomas  More. 
f  Of  the  first  half  of  the  1  Lord  Berners. 
16th  Century.        }  Roger  Asciiam. 

(  William  Tyndale. 

Of  the  Elizabethan  Age. 

Theological  Writers  of  the  Civil  War  and 

the  Commonwealth. 
The  Literature  of  the  Restoration. 
The  Philosophers  and  Theologians  of  Locke's 

Time. 
Prose  Writers  of  the  first  half  of  the  18th 

Century. 
The  First  Great  Novelists. 
The  First  Great  Historians. 
Ethical,  Political,  and  Theological  Writers 

of  the  latter  half  of  the  18th  Century. 
The  Literary  Impostors  of  the  18th  Century. 
The  Modern  Novelists. 
The  Modern  Historians  and  Essayists. 


CHAPTEH  tt. 

ENGLISH  LITERATURE  BEFORE  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST. 

FOR  more  than  fourteen  centuries  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
the  English  people  have  found  expression  in  the  language 
which  we  now  speak.  The  rude  dialects  that  were  brought  to 
Britain  by  our  forefathers,  though  differing  in  many  particulars, 
were  like  the  modern  English  in  all  essential  respects.  This  ven- 
erable language  has  undergone  many  changes  and  modifications, 
has  been  affected  by  strong  foreign  influences,  has  stripped  itself  of 
many  of  its  inflections,  has  acquired  a  vast  vocabulary,  has  passed 
from  youth  to  maturity.  Between  its  youth  and  its  maturity  then 
has  been  wonderful  growth,  but  the  identity  remains.  The  modern 
English  is  the  Anglo-Saxon  developed. 

It  is  customary  to  use  the  terms  "  Anglo-Saxon,"  "  Semi-Saxon," 
and  "English,"  to  designate  three  periods  in  the  history  of  our 
language ;  but  as  the  use  of  the  first  two  of  these  terms  might 
tempt  us  to  think  that  we  are  considering  a  foreign  language  and 
literature,  when  we  are  considering  merely  the  old  fashions  of  our 
own  speech,  we  shall  do  well  to  avoid  the  temptation  by  adopting 
the  following  division: 

1.  The  Old  English,  from  the  dawn  of  the  language  until  1154. 

2.  The  Middle  English,  from  1154  until  about  1500. 

3.  The  Modern  English,  from  about  1500  to  the  present  time. 

It  cannot  be  incorrect  to  apply  the  term  "  English  "  to  even  the 
first  of  these  periods,  for  the  renowned  King  Alfred,  writing  in  the 
ninth  century,  uses  that  very  term  in  describing  his  language.11 
The  old  English  was  highly  inflected  in  its  grammar,  and  had  few- 
words  adopted  from  foreign  languages.  The  middle  English  is  the 
name  we  give  to  that  period  of  transition  in  which  the  speech  of 

*  iEifrod  Kyning  wm  wiHittod  thiese  bee,  tad  Ui  of  boctedene  on 

wende.    "  iElfivd  King  was  commentator  of  this  book,  and  it  from  book-::, 
into  English  turned." 


BEOWULF.  27 

the  Normans  was  exerting  its  influence  upon  our  language.  Dur< 
ing  this  period  the  more  complicated  forms  of  grammatical  structure 
were  abandoned,  and  the  vocabulary  was  largely  increased. 

In  the  modern  English,  aside  from  the  addition  of  new  words,  the 
changes  have  been  slight.  The  printing-press  has  stereotyped  the 
language. 

OLD    ENGLISH    POETRY. 

The  Poem,  Beowul£  No  other  spoken  language  of  modern 
Europe  has  a  literature  as  ancient  as  the  English.  Its  earliest 
extant  writing  is  an  epic  poem  of  more  than  six  thousand  lines, 
entitled  "  Beowulf."  The  scene  of  its  action  indicates  that  it  was 
composed  by  Saxons  who  lived  before  the  invasion  of  England, 
though  a  few  eminent  scholars  give  the  poem  an  English  birth- 
place in  the  county  of  Durham. 

In  their  primitive  home,  when  the  banqueting-hall  (the  "  mead- 
bench  ")  was  tilled,  the  gleeman  stirred  the  courage  of  his  listeners 
by  the  recital  of  the  superhuman  deeds  of  mighty  Beowulf. 
As  the  story  runs,  King  Hrothgar  and  his  chosen  subjects  were 
wont  to  sit  in  his  great  hall  listening  to  music,  and  drinking  for 
their  pleasure ;  but  their  pleasure  was  disturbed  by  their  fear  of 
Grendel,  a  grim  and  terrible  giant,  who  dwelt  in  the  neighboring 
marshes  of  Jutland.  This  monster  would  come  into  the  palace  at 
times  to  see  "  how  the  doughty  Danes  found  themselves  after  their 
beer-carouse."  On  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  he  slew  thirty 
sleeping  men.  For  twelve  years  he  was  the  terror  of  the  land.  At 
last  the  pitiful  story  came  to  the  ears  of  Beowulf,  a  viking  who  was 
noted  for  his  victories  over  the  giants  of  the  deep.  He  resolved  to 
go  to  the  relief  of  Hrothgar.  Entering  the  haunted  hall,  he  prom- 
ised to  fight  the  monster.  When  the  mists  of  the  night  arose, 
Grendel  came,  and  commenced  a  ferocious  assault  upon  a  sleeping 
man.  Beowulf  faced  him,  fought  him  valiantly,  and  wounded  him 
so  that  he  died.  Then  there  was  great  rejoicing.  But  the  joy  was 
soon  dispelled,  for  the  mother  of  the  monster  came  to  seek  revenge. 
Beowulf  pursued  her  into  deep,  dark  waters,  where  he  was  seized 
and  dragged  to  the  bottom  of  her  cave ;  but  he  was  able  to  let  her 
soul  out  of  its  bone-house  ("  ban-hus  "). 

A  description  of  this  poem  is  comparatively  uninstructive  and 
valueless  without   an  illustration  of  its  quaint  thought   and  it§ 


28  BKOWUl.l. 

terse  expression.     We  will  look  at  a  short  extract  from  the  con- 
densed and  modernized  version  found  in  MorUy^s  English  Writers.'4 

"  Then  came  from  the  moor  under  the  misty  hills,  Grendel 
stalking:  the  wicked  spoiler  meant  in  the  lofty  hall  to  snare  one 
of  mankind.  He  strode  under  the  clouds  until  he  saw  the  wine- 
house,  golden  hall  of  men.  Came  then  faring  to  the  house  the  joy- 
less man,  he  rushed  straight  on  the  door,  fast  with  fire-hardened 
bands,  struck  with  his  hands,  dragged  open  the  hall's  mouth : 
quickly  then  trod  the  fiend  on  the  stained  floor,  went  wroth  of 
mood,  and  from  his  eyes  stood  forth  a  loathsome  light,  likest  to 
flame.  He  saw  in  the  house  many  war-men  sleeping  all  together, 
then  was  his  mood  laughter.  Hope  of  a  sweet  glut  had  arisen  in 
him.  But  it  was  not  for  him  after  that  night  to  eat  more  of  man- 
kind. The  wretched  wight  seized  quickly  a  sleeping  warrior,  slit 
him  unawares,  bit  his  bone-locker,  drank  his  blood,  in  morsels 
swallowed  him  :  soon  had  he  all  eaten,  feet  and  fingers.  Nearer 
forth  he  stept,  laid  hands  upon  the  doughty-minded  warrior  at  his 
rest,  but  Beowulf  reached  forth  a  hand  and  hung  upon  his  arm. 
Soon  as  the  evil-doer  felt  that  there  was  not  in  mid-earth  a  stronger 
hand-grip,  he  became  fearful  in  heart.  Not  for  that  could  he 
escape  the  sooner,  though  his  mind  was  bent  on  flight,  He  would 
flee  into  his  den,  seek  the  pack  of  devils;  his  trial  there  was  such 
as  in  his  life  days  he  had  never  before  found.  The  hall  thundered, 
the  ale  of  all  the  Danes  and  earls  was  spilt.  Angry,  fierce  were  the 
strong  fighters,  the  hall  was  full  of  the  din.  It  was  great  wonder 
that  the  wine-hall  stood  above  the  war-like  beasts,  that  the  fair 
earth-home  tell  not  to  the  ground.  But  within  and  without  it  was 
fast  with  iron  bands  cunningly  forged.  Over  the  North  Danes 
Stood  dire  fear,  0:1  every  one  of  those  who  heard  the  gruesome 
whoop.  The  friend  of  earls  held  fast  the  deadly  guest,  would  not 
leave  him  while  living.  Then  drew  a  warrior  of  Beowulf  an  old 
sword,  of  his  father's  for  help  of  his  lord.  The  sons  of  strife  sought 
then  to  hew  on  every  side,  they  knew  not  that  no  war-blade  would 
cut  into  the  wieked  scather;  but  Beowulf  had  forsworn  every 
edge.  Hvgelac'8  proud  kinsman  had  the  foe  of  God  in  hand.  The 
fell  Wretch  bore  pain,  a  deadly  wound  gaped  on  his  shoulder,  the 
sinews  sprang  asunder,  the  hone-locker  burst,  to  Beowulf  was  war- 
strength  given.  Crendel  fled  away  death-sick,  to  seek  a  sad  dwell- 
ing under  the  fen  shelters;  his  life's  end  was  come," 

When  Ilrothgar  died,  the  hero  of  the  poem  ascended  the  throne  ; 
and  after  an  adventurous  reign  of  fifty-years,  he  died  from  wounds 
received  in  slaying  a  terrible  foe-fiend. 

This,  the  most  ancient  and  the  most  interesting  of  the  old  Bug. 
lish  poems,  is  full  of  the  superstition!  of  heathen  times,  ami  yet 

♦Vol.  l.,p  251,  80Q. 


CAEDMOK.  29 

it  presents  a  character  instinct  with  chivalry  and  generosity.  It 
is  the  picture  of  "an  age  brave,  generous,  right-principled.' 
Many  strange  but  forcible  compound  words,  many  highly  imagina- 
tive metaphors,  andjfoe  similes  are  found  in  this  venerable  poem. 
It  is  supposed  to  be  allegorical,  the  monster  representing  a  poison- 
ous exhalation  from  the  marshes.  If  the  supposition  be  a  correct 
one,  this  literary  relic  shows  the  predilection  of  our  ancestors  for 
allegorical  expression. 

Although  the  action  of  this  heroic  story  was  not  later  than  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  the  only  MS.  which  has  preserved 
the  narrative  for  us  was  written  not  earlier  than  the  close  of  the 
tenth  century.  This  most  valuable  of  English  MSS.,  now  kept  in 
the  British  Museum,  was  probably  the  work  of  a  monk.  It  was 
written  in  Danish  characters.  The  writing  is  continuous,  resembling 
our  manuscript  of  prose.  There  is  no  rhyming,  for  rhyme  was  an 
adornment  uncommon  in  English  poetry  until  after  the  Norman 
Conquest,  But  in  this,  and  in  all  other  Old  English  (Anglo-Saxon) 
poems,  a  rude  alliteration  is  found,  which  is  explained  in  our  dis- 
cussion of  "The  Vision  of  Piers  Plowman." 

Caedmon's  Paraphrase  of  the  Scriptures.  The  next  poem 
demanding  our  attention  is  free  from  the  pagan  sentiments  ol 
Beowulf.  It  was  written  about  two  centuries  after  the  Angles  and 
Saxons  began  their  invasion  of  England,  and  by  that  time  they  had 

been  won  to  the  Christian  faith.  A  monk  named 
Died  680.]     Caedmon  (Kad'mon),  was  the  first  Englishman  who 

has  left  us  poetry  inspired  by  the  beauties  of  Christian 
sentiment.  He  was  the  author  of  a  Metrical  Paraphrase  of  the 
Scriptures.  Connected  with  his  work,  we  have  one  of  the  most 
interesting  legends  found  in  English  literature.  He  was  a  servant 
at  a  monastery  in  Northumbria,  where  Hilda,  a  lady  of  royal  blood, 
was  Abbess.*  Sitting,  one  evening,  with  a  company  of  rustics,  who 
were  whiling   away  the  time   by  singing  and   by   recitation,   his 


*  Above  the  small  and  land-locked  harbor  of  Whitby  rises  and  juts  out  towards 
the  sea  the  dark  cliff  where  Hild's  monastery  stood,  looking  out  over  the  German 
Ocean.  It  is  a  wild,  wind-swept  upland,  and  the  sea  beats  furiously  beneath,  and 
standing  there  one  feels  that  it  is  a  fitting  birth-place  for  the  poetry  of  the  sea- 
ruling  nation.  Nor  is  the  verse  of  the  first  poet  without  the  stormy  note  of  th^ 
scenery  among  which  it  was  written.— Stopford  Brooke. 


30  CAEDMON. 

ignorance  compelled  him  to  be  silent  when  it  was  his  turn  to  help 
on  the  entertainment.  Bemoaning  his  stupidity,  "  he  left  the  house 
of  festivity,  went  out  to  the  stables  of  the  beasts,  whose  custody  on 
that  night  was  intrusted  to  him  ;  "  and  there  in  his  restless  sleep  a 
strange  figure  appeared  to  him  and  bade  him  sing.  UI  cannot 
sing,"  said  Caedmon ;  "  I  have  come  out  hither  from  the  feast 
because  I  could  not  sing."  Then  he  who  spoke  to  him  said,  "  But 
you  have  to  sing  to  me."  "What  must  I  sing?"  asked  Caedmon; 
and  the  voice  replied,  "  Sing  the  origin  of  creatures."  At  once  an 
inspiration  came  to  the  ignorant  peasant,  and  the  words  of  his  song 
lingered  in  his  memory  when  he  awoke.  The  people  of  the  neigh- 
boring monastery  pronounced  his  new  endowment  a  miracle,  called 
him  a  favored  child  of  heaven,  made  him  a  member  of  their  order, 
and  ever  treated  him  with  deference. 

Such  is  the  legend.  The  marvelous  story  may  have  been  told 
for  the  purpose  of  winning  the  reverent  esteem  of  the  people  for 
Caedmon's  teachings.  But  without  the  story  he  would  have  been 
eminent  among  men.  His  work  continued  to  be  the  most  popular 
expression  of  religious  feeling,  and  won  for  him  the  deep  reverence 
of  five  centuries  of  Englishmen. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  this  great  religious  poet  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons  suggested  to  Milton  the  subject  of  his  renowned 
epic.  That  Milton  must  have  read  Caedmon  with  great  interest 
seems  probable,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  MS.  of  Caedmon,  dis- 
covered in  1654,  was  first  published  in  1655,  and  that  it  discussed 
the  Fall  of  Man,  the  very  subject  upon  which  Milton's  imagination 
was  at  work.  Both  describe  wicked  angels,  their  expulsion  from 
heaven,  their  descent  into  hell,  and  the  creation  of  the  worlil. 
In  Satan's  soliloquy  in  Hell  we  find  a  passage  (others  might  be 
cited),  in  which  the  great  English  epic  poet  of  the  seventeenth 
century  has  thoughts  closely  resembling  those  that  were  written  by 
the  monk  of  the  seventh  century. 

These  poems  of  the  Old  English  period,  one  produced  while 
our  ancestors  were  yet  in  paganism,  the  other  after  they  had 
accepted  Christianity,  are  the  only  extended  works  in  verse  which 
have  been  preserved.  The  shorter  poems  are  not  numerous. 
Fragments  of  verse  and  two  or  three  unbroken  passages  are  found 
amid  the  prose  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle.  They  are  always  spirited, 
but  serious.      They  are  the  utterances   of  a  people  who,  though 


KIKG      ALFBED.  31 

unaccustomed  to  give  vent  to  their  feelings,  yet,  when  excited  by 
some  great  occasion,  expressed  themselves  with  earnest  solemnity. 
They  never  show  us  the  sparkle  of  lyric  verse, — the  national  char- 
acter was  not  adapted  to  its  production. 

OLD    ENGLISH    PROSE. 

B.  849.]  King  Alfred's  Literary  Influence.  The  name  of  King 
D.  901.]  Alfred  stands  pre-eminent  among  the  writers  of  prose  in 
Old  English.  No  sooner  had  he  delivered  his  people 
from  their  Danish  enemies,  than  he  set  at  work  to  free  them  from 
their  bondage  to  ignorance.  From  various  quarters,  he  invited  men 
of  learning  to  his  court.  He  insisted  upon  the  better  education  of 
the  clergy.  What  he  could  do,  he  did,  to  restore  the  literary  work 
that  had  been  destroyed  when  the  Danes  burned  English  monas- 
teries. In  order  to  diffuse  knowledge,  he  had  standard  writings  on 
religion,  morals,  geography,  and  history,  translated  into  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people.  He  not  only  gave  patronage  to  learning  ;  he 
also  gave  his  earnest  personal  efforts  in  contributing  to  the  national 
literature.  At  a  time  of  life  when  the  task  must  have  been  irksome 
enough,  he  applied  himself  to  a  careful  course  of  training  in  order 
to  prepare  himself  for  the  work  of  a  writer.  By  these  means  his 
patriotic  desires  were  gratified ;  and,  while  he  succeeded  in  increas- 
ing the  intelligence  of  his  country,  he  won  for  himself  a  lofty  place 
among  royal  authors. 

King  Alfred's  chief  works  were  translations  of  Bede's  Ecclesiasti- 
cal History,  the  Ancient  History  of  Orosius,  and  Boethius  On  the 
Consolations  Afforded  by  Philosophy.  But  he  was  something  more 
than  a  mere  translator.  The  new  matter  introduced  by  way  ol 
comment  or  illustration,  entitles  him  to  be  called  an  original  author. 
His  writings  are  pronounced  u  the  purest  specimens  of  Anglo-Saxon 
prose." 

The  patronage  and  the  example  of  the  great  king  must  have 
induced  the  writing  of  many  works  in  the  native  language.  Time 
has  spared  us  very  few  of  them.  One  grand  monument  of  prose 
literature,  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  still  remains.  It  exists  in  seven 
separate  forms,  each  named  from  the  monastery  in  which  it  was 
completed.  The  usual  unauthentic  account  of  this  work  is  that  it 
was  originally  composed  at  the  suggestion  of  King  Alfred,  and, 


32  THE      SAXON      CHRONICLES. 

beginning  with  the  arrival  of  Julius  Caesar  in  Britain,  was  brought 
down  to  the  year  891;  and  that  from  that  time  it  was  continued  aa 
a  contemporary  record  until  the  accession  of  Henry  II.,  in  1154. 
This  chronicle  is  exceedingly  interesting,  as  it  is  the  first  ever 
written  in  Teutonic  prose,  and  is  also  most  valuable,  since  it  fur- 
nishes trustworthy  statements  concerning  the  early  history  of  the 
English  people. 

At  the  beginning,  the  work  is  crude,  meagre  in  its  details,  and 
altogether  devoid  of  the  qualities  we  expect  to  find  in  an  elaborate 
historical  narration;  but  as  the  record  draws  towards  its  close,  the 
chroniclers  occasionally  rise  into  sustained  descriptions,  display 
vigor  of  style  and  a  sober  eloquence.  "  Putting  aside  the  Hebrew 
annals,  there  is  not  anywhere  known  a  series  of  early  vernacular 
histories  comparable  to  the  Saxon  Chronicles."  Their  close  marks 
the  close  of  the  old  language  as  well  as  of  the  old  literature ;  for 
before  the  chronicler  had  thrown  down  his  pen,  he  had  begun  to 
confuse  his  grammar  and  to  corrupt  his  vocabulary. 

Latin  Authorship  in  England.  The  literature  thus  far  referred 
to  was  written  for  the  amusement  or  instruction  of  comparatively 
ignorant  people  j  much  of  it  was  intended  for  recital  to  those  who 
could  not  read.  But  there  were  monks  in  England  who  were 
studying  and  writing  in  Latin,  then  the  only  language  of  the 
republic  of  learning.  During  the  first  five  or  six  centuries  of 
England's  history,  her  most  highly  cultivated  men  were  contrib- 
uting to  the  well-stocked  literature  of  Rome,  and  were  withholding 
the  fruits  of  their  mental  toil  from  the  literature  of  their  own 
nation. 

One  of  these  Latin  authors,  the  Venerable  Bede,  by  his  record 

of  the  early  history  of  England,  has  bequeathed  to  us 

B.  673.]     most  valuable   information.     He   was    placed    in    the 

D.  735.]     Wearmouth  Monastery  when  seven  years  of  age.     The 

rest  of  his  biography  is  contained  in  the  following  brief 

passage,  translated  from  one  of  his  works :  * 

14  Spending  all  the  remaining  time  of  my  life  in  that  monastery, 
I  wholly  applied  myself  to  the  study  of  Scripture,  and  amidst  thu 
observance  of  regular  discipline,  and  the  daily  care  of  singing  in  the 

*  Bode,  like  Caedmon,  was  a  Northumbrian.    The  extinction  of  Northumfcriar 

tilcratin-r  murks  the  invasion  by  the  Danes. 


THE      VENERABLE      BEDE.  33 

church,  I  always  took  delight  in  learning,  teaching  and  writing. 
[n  the  nineteenth  year  of  my  age  I  received  deacon's  orders ;  in  the 
thirtieth,  those  of  the  priesthood,  *  *  *  from  which  time  till 
the  fifty-ninth  year  of  my  age  I  have  made  it  my  business,  for  the 
use  of  me  and  mine,  to  compile  out  of  the  works  of  the  venerable 
fathers,  and  to  interpret  and  explain,  according  to  their  meaning, 
these  following  pieces."  . 

The  enumeration  itself  is  startlingly  voluminous.  "  His  writings 
form  almost  an  encyclopaedia  of  the  knowledge  of  his  day."  Many 
of  them  were  prepared  as  text-books  for  the  hundreds  of  students 
who  sought  his  teaching,  and  they  included  treatises  on  mathe- 
matics, on  astronomy,  on  grammar,  on  rhetoric,  on  dialectics,  on 
meteorology,  on  music  and  on  medicine.*  But  it  is  by  one  work 
that  he  has  made  the  English  nation  a  lasting  debtor  to  his  fame : 
for  his  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  English  was  a  history  of  England, 
and  was  for  centuries  the  only  source  of  knowledge  in  matters 
relating  to  the  nation's  early  career.  Written  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  among  the  Angles  and  Saxons  the  memory  of  their  con- 
version to  the  Christian  faith,  it  told  them,  also,  the  story  of  their 
political  life.  In  careful  and  successful  research,  in  arrangement 
of  materials,  and  in  felicity  of  style,  he  rises  far  above  all  Gothic 
historians  of  that  age.  Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People, 
gives  the  following  version  of  the  story  of  Bede's  last  hours,  which 
were  spent  in  finishing  his  Translation  of  the  Gospel  of  John : 

"  '  There  is  still  a  chapter  wanting,'  said  the  scribe,  as  the  morn- 
ing drew  on,  'and  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  question  thyself  any  longer.' 
'It  is  easily  done,'  said  Bede;  'take  thy  pen  and  write  quickly.' 
Amid  tears  and  farewells  the  day  wore  on  to  eventide.  '  There  is 
yet  one  sentence  unwritten,  dear  Master,'  said  the  boy.  '  Write 
it  quickly,'  bade  the  dying  man.  '  It  is  finished  now,'  said  the 
little  scribe,  at  last.  '  You  speak  truth,'  said  the  master ;  '  all  is 
finished  now.'  Placed  upon  the  pavement,  his  head  supported  in 
his  scholar's  arms,  his  face  turned  to  the  spot  where  he  was  wont 
to  pray,  Bede  chanted  the  solemn  '  Glory  to  God.'  As  his  voice 
reached  the  close  of  his  song,  he  passed  quietly  away." 

In  the  old  English  literature,  the  idea  of  duty  and  the  claims  of 
religion  are  everywhere  recognized.  They  appear  in  the  pagan- 
ism of  Beowulf,  they  are  piously  chanted  in  the  verses  of  Caedmon, 
they  are  displayed  in  the  achievements  of  King  Alfred,  they  give 

*  See  the  Development  qf  English  Literature,  O.  E.  Period,  Brother  Azarias. 


34  THE      VENERABLE     BEDE. 

sanctity  to  the  life  and  works  of  the  Venerable  Bede.  The  serious 
tone  of  that  first  age  has  sounded  through  the  later  ages  of  English 
thought.  The  English  Literature  "has  for  its  most  distinctive 
mark  the  religious  sense  of  duty.  It  represents  a  people  striving 
through  successive  generations  to  find  out  the  right  and  do  it,  to 
root  out  the  wrong,  and. labor  ever  onward  for  the  love  of  God."  * 

*  Morley's  First  Sketch  of  English  Literature,  p.  1. 

Note.— For  extended  reading  upon  the  topics  discussed  in  this  chapter,  the 
student  is  referred  to  Wright's  Biographia  Britannica  Literaria,  Morley's  English 
Writers,  Guest's  History  of  English  Rhythms,  Conybeare's  Illustrations  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  Poetry,  Thorpe's  edition  of  Caedmon,  Craik's  English  Literature  and  Lan 
guage,  and  Taine's  English  Literature. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: 

J,  A  general  division  of  the  English  Language* 

2.  The  Poem,  Beoivulf. 

3.  Caedmon's  Paraphrase  of  the  Scripture** 

4.  King  Alfred's  Literary  Influence. 

5.  The  Saxon  Chronicle, 

6.  The  Venerable  Bede, 


CHAPTER   HI. 

FROM  THE  CONQUEST  TO  GEOFFREY  CHAUCER. 

FOR  more  than  a  century  after  the  Norman  Conquest,  English 
Literature  was  inert.  That  conquest,  so  fatal  to  the  native 
aristocracy,  seemed  at  first  to  have  swept  away  in  common  ruin  the 
laws,  language,  and  arts  of  the  English  people,  and  to  have  blot- 
ted out  England  from  the  muster-roll  of  the  nations.  A  foreign 
king  and  aristocracy,  an  alien  language  and  literature,  ruled  in  the 
land ;  the  old  speech  was  no  longer  heard  in  the  halls  of  the  great ; 
native  genius  no  longer  strove  to  utter  itself  in  the  native  tongue ; 
and  the  voice  of  the  English  nation  seemed  stilled  forever.  But  it 
was  not  the  stillness  of  death ;  in  a  few  generations  signs  of  re- 
turning life  began  to  show  themselves;  and  the  English  nation 
emerged  from  the  fiery  trial,  with  its  equipment  of  language,  laws 
and  literature,  materially  altered  indeed,  and  perhaps  improved, 
but  still  bearing  the  ineffaceable  Teutonic  stamp.  The  national 
life  was  not  annihilated  in  the  Battle  of  Hastings ;  it  was  only  sus- 
pended for  a  time. 

Changes  in  the  English  Language.  In  the  old  English,  as  in. 
other  Teutonic  languages,  there  was  a  tendency  to  shake  off  com- 
plicated inflections.  This  tendency  existed  before  the  Norman 
Conquest.  That  great  political  revolution  gave  it  additional  im- 
pulse. The  vernacular  speech  was  driven  from  literature  for  a  time, 
and  found  its  refuge  in  the  cottages  of  ignorant  people.  No  longer 
fixed  by  use  in  literature,  it  fell  into  disorder;  the  processes  of 
change  were  thereby  accelerated,  and  when,  at  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century,  this  speech  rose  to  the  surface  once  more,  it  had 
traveled  far  along  its  destined  course.  Still  it  was  the  old  tongue. 
In  the  words  of  Max  Muller,  "  not  a  single  drop  of  foreign  blood 
has  entered  into  the  organic  system  of  the  English  language.  The 
Grammar,  the  blood  and  soul  of  the  language,  is  as  pure  and  un« 


THE    BRUT    OF    LATAHON. 

mixed  In  the  English  spoken  in  the  British  Isles  as  it  was  when 
spoken  on  the  shores  of  the  German  Ocean  by  the  Angles,  Saxons, 
and  Jutes  of  the  continent."  * 

Thi3,  the  Middle  English  Stage,  was  a  revolutionary  period  of 
the  language.  There  was  a  general  breaking  up  of  the  old  gram- 
matical system ;  uncertainty,  confusion,  and  fluctuation  prevailed. 
The  Northern,  the  Midland,  and  the  Southern  dialects,  each  with 
certain  peculiar  inflectional  forms,  and  each  represented  by  literary 
works  of  some  note,  struggled  for  the  mastery.  The  influx  of 
French  words  too,  though  trifling  at  first,  had  already  begun ;  and 
for  the  next  three  centuries  the  process  went  on  with  increasing 
rapidity. 

The  interest  of  the  writings  which  form  the  subject  of  this 
chapter  is  almost  exclusively  philological  and  historical.  Their 
literary  merits  are  small ;  but  they  supply  the  means  of  tracing  the 
course  of  the  language  through  its  many  varying  forms,  and, 
occasionally,  they  throw  a  powerful  light  on  the  feelings  and 
aspirations,  the  political  and  social  condition  of  the  people.  We 
shall  give  them  but  a  passing  glance. 

Layamon's  Brut.  If  we  except  a  few  fragments  of  verse, — The 
Hymn  of  St.  Godric,  the  Ely  Song  of  King  Canute,  the  Here  Prophecy, 
none  of  them  exceeding  eight  lines  in  length — the  first  to  break  the 
long  silence  was  Layamon,  author  of  the  Brut.  He  was  a  priest,  at 
Ernley,  in  Worcestershire,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  gentle,  pious, 
patriotic  man,  a  lover  of  tradition.  His  work,  written  early  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  is  a  chronicle  of  Britain,  and  is  mainly  • 
translation  from  the  French  of  the  Brut  oVAngleterre;  but  Layamon 
has  introduced  so  much  new  matter  into  his  work,  and  has  made 
it  so  conversational  in  style,  that  it  is  more  than  double  the  length 
of  the  original.  It  is  a  free  narration  in  verse  of  Celtic  traditions 
which  had  been  preserved  in  France  and  in  parts  of  England.  The 
■tory  makes  Brutus,  a  son  of  the  Trojan  Aeneas,  the  founder  of  the 
line  of  British  Monarchs.  The  style  of  the  work  bears  witness  to 
Norman  influence,  but  not  to  so  great  an  extent  as  might  h:i\ 
expected  from  the  translator  of  a  French  original.  The  fact  that 
it  was  written  for  the  eonnnon  people  of  a  rural  district  was  favor- 
Able  to  the  use  ot  simple  English,  and  makes  it  a  valuable  il lustra- 

♦  M  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,"  1st  series,  p.  81,  Amer.  Edition. 


THE    OEMULUK.  37 

tion  of  the  state  of  our  language  at  that  time.  Written  nearly 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  Norman  Conquest,  it  is, 
nevertheless,  a  specimen  of  almost  pure  Saxon.  The  old  text  in 
its  more  than  thirty  thousand  lines  has  not  fifty  words  taken  from 
the  French.  The  foreign  influence,  however,  appears  in  the  occa- 
sional use  of  rhymes.  Layamon's  work  was  preserved  in  two 
manuscripts  of  the  thirteenth  century,  which  illustrate  the  progress 
of  the  language  in  ridding  itself  of  Anglo-Saxon  terminations. 

The  Ormulum,  another  monument  of  our  old  literature,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  written  in  the  thirteenth  century.  One  of  its 
editors  describes  it  as  "  a  series  of  homilies  in  an  imperfect  state, 
composed  in  metre,  without  alliteration,  and,  except  in  very  few 
cases,  without  rhyme :  the  subject  of  the  homilies  being  supplied 
by  those  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which  were  read  in  the 
daily  services  of  the  church."  The  author  himself  says,  "  If  any  one 
wants  to  know  why  I  have  done  this  deed,  why  I  have  turned  into 
English  the  Gospel's  holy  teaching ;  I  have  done  it  in  order  that  all 
young  Christian  folks  may  depend  upon  that  only,  that  they  with 
their  whole  might  follow  aright  the  Gospel's  holy  teaching  in 
thought,  in  word,  in  deed."  The  text  reads  more  easily  than  Laya- 
mon's Brut,  and  that  fact,  together  with  many  peculiarities  of 
structure,  indicates  that  the  work  is  more  recent.  At  the  time  of 
its  writing,  the  conflict  of  languages  and  dialect?  in  Eugland  was 
going  on,  and  the  people  made  sad  work  in  their  attempts  to  pro- 
nounce each  other's  speech.  To  save  his  verses  from  abuse  or 
mispronunciation,  Orm,  or  Ormin,  adopted  an  ingenious  use  of 
consonants  as  a  key  to  the  sounds  of  vowels.  After  every  short 
vowel  the  consonant  was  doubled,  and  the  reader,  of  whatever 
speech  he  might  be,  was  left  with  no  excuse  for  marring  the  sound 
of  the  verse.     A  single  couplet  will  illustrate : 

"  Thiss  boc  iss  ncmmned  Orrmulum, 
Forrthi  that  Orrm  itt  wrohhte." 

(This  book  is  called  Ormulum,  because  Orm  wrought  it.) 

Poetical  Romances.  In  that  age  literary  thought  demanded 
the  narration  of  romance  in  song.  The  taste  was  native  to  the 
French  ;  and  English  writers,  in  considerable  numbers,  sought  their 
laurels  in  this  kind  of  composition.     The  stories,  originally  written 


38  THE    POETRY    OP    CHIVALRY. 

in  the  French,  full  of  love  and  adventure,  were  full  of  the  spirit  of 
chivalry.  Professional  minstrels,  knights,  and  even  kings  had  vied 
in  their  composition.  These  romances  group  themselves  about 
great  names,  some  having  Alexander,  some  Charlemagne,  as  their 
central  figure;  but  one  cluster,  the  Arthurian,  is  of  genuine  native 
growth,  and  possesses  the  highest  interest  of  all.  Translations  and 
imitations  of  these  French  romances  slowly  came  into  popular 
favor  with  the  English  people,  and  aided  in  the  fusion  of  the 
languages. 

Ballads.  But  the  patriotic  spirit  of  the  common  people  was  not 
fully  satisfied  in  imitating  foreigu  poesy.  Many  spirited  political 
songs  of  English  origin,  and  ballads  full  of  characteristic  English 
satire  were  written.  One  of  these  ballads,  The  Owl  and  the  Nightin- 
gale, in  giving  an  amusing  account  of  a  competition  in  song  between 
the  two  birds,  furnishes  perhaps  the  finest  specimen  of  the  popular 
literature  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  is  especially  interesting  as 
the  earliest  narrative  and  imaginative  English  poem  not  copied 
from  some  foreign  model. 

Writings  in  the  English  tongue  do  not  represent  the  entire  intel- 
lectual wealth  of  the  nation  during  this  Anglo-Norman  period ; 
indeed  they  form  but  a  small  portion.  For  almost  three  centuries 
after  the  Conquest,  French  continued  to  be  the  language  of  polite 
literature,  and  Latin  the  language  oi"  theology,  philosophy,  science 
and  history.  Many  Englishmen  were  writing  in  these  departments  ; 
but  they  were  contributors  to  a  foreign,  not  to  their  national  litera- 
ture. 

That  national  literature  has  now  reached  the  eve  of  its  Brat 
great  expansion.  It  has  been  in  existence  for  a  thousand  years, 
but  has  as  yet  produced  no  work  of  pre-eminent  merit,  no  name 
that  is  entitled  to  rank  among  intellects  of  the  highest  order.  Energy 
of  thought  and  expression,  natural  sweetness  and  simple  pathos, 
are  not  wanting;  but  there  is  still  a  complete  absence  of  artistic 
form,  literary  skill,  and  the  higher  qualities  of  workmanship. 
Nothing  appears  to  portend  the  magnificent  outburst  that  is  at 
hand;  but  the  student  of  history  can  discern  forces,  political, 
social,  and  spiritual,  at  work  beneath  the  smooth  surface,  destined 
within  a  few  years  to  produce  momentous  results.     The  national 


GEOFFREY    CHAIXCER.  39 

life  and  thought  of  England  are  now  passing  through  a  quicken* 
ing  process ;  a  brilliant  page  in  her  history  is  about  to  open,  on 
which  will  appear  many  bright  names,  but  none  brighter  than  that 
of  Geoffrey  Chaucer,  the  first  man  who  speaks  to  the  hearts  o/ 
tUl  classes  of  the  English  people. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered 

1.  The  Middle  English. 

2.  Layamou's  Brut. 

3.  The  Ormulum. 

4.  Poetical  Romances,  and  Ballad** 


!  1 


CHAPTER   IV. 

GEOFFREY   CHAUCER. 

*  I  consider  Chaucer  as  a  genial  day  in  an  English  spring.  "'—Thomas  Warton. 

"  I  take  increasing  delight  in  Chaucer.  *  *  *  How  exquisitely  tender  he  is, 
fet  how  perfectly  free  he  is  from  the  least  touch  of  sickly  melancholy  or  morbid 
drooping."— S  T.  Coleridge. 

41  Here  was  a  healthy  and  hearty  man,  so  genuine  that  he  need  not  ask  whether 
he  were  genuine  or  no,  so  sincere  as  to  quite  forget  his  own  sincerity,  so  truly  pious 
that  he  could  be  happy  in  the  best  world  that  God  chose  to  make,  so  human  thai 
he  loved  even  the  foibles  of  his  kind." 

"  There  is  no  touch  of  cynicism  in  all  he  wrote."— J.  R.  LoweU. 

THE  fourteenth  century  is  the  most  important  epoch  in 
the  intellectual  history  of  Europe.  It  is  the  point 
of  contact  between  two  widely-differing  eras  in  the  social. 
religious,  and  political  annals  of  our  race.  Feudalism  and 
chivalry  had  fulfilled  their  mission  and  were  yielding  to  the 
pressure  of  ideas  that  foreshadowed  the  Revival  of  Letters  and 
the  Protestant  Reformation.  Of  this  great  social  transition 
from  the  old  order  to  the  new,  the  personal  career  and  the 
works  of  Chaucer,  the  first  great  English  poet,  "the  Father 
of  English  Poetry,"  furnish  us  with  the  most  exact  type  and 
expression;  for,  like  all  men  of  the  highest  order  of  genius, 
he  at  once  followed  and  directed  the  intellectual  tendencies 
of  his  age,  and  was  himself  the  "abstract  and  brief  chroni- 
cle" of  the  spirit  of  his  time.  In  the  age  in  which  he 
fived  he  was  fortunate:  the  magnificent  court  of  Edward 
111.  had  carried  the  splendor  of  chivalry  to  the  height 
of  its  development  ;  the  victories  of  Sluys,  of  Crecy,  ami 
Poitiers,  by  exciting  the  national  pride,  tended  to  fuse  into 


CfiAtJCER.  41 

one  vigorous  nationality  the  two  elements  which  formed 
the  English  people  and  the  English  language.  The  litera 
ture,  too,  abundant  in  quantity,  if  not  remarkable  for  orig- 
inality of  form,  was  rapidly  taking  a  purely  English  tone ; 
rhyming  chronicles  and  legendary  romances  were  composed 
in  the  vernacular.  This  tendency  to  make  the  English 
a  literary  langua'ge  is  indicated  by  the  following  quota- 
tion from  the  Testament  of  Love:  "Let  clerks  indite  in 
Latin,  and  the  Frenchmen  in  their  French  also  indite  their 
quaint  terms,  for  it  is  kindly  to  their  mouths ;  and  let 
us  show  our  fantasies  in  such  words  as  we  learned  of  our 
Mother's  tongue."  From  the  Norman  Conquest  until  the 
time  of  Chaucer,  the  Latin  had  been  used  in  England  by 
those  who  wrote  for  the  learned ;  the  French  was  the  lan- 
guage of  fashionable  literature,  and  the  English  was  writte* 
only  for  the  ignorant.  Meantime  the  native  tongue  had 
developed  until  Chaucer,  the  greatest  literary  genius  which 
the  nation  had  produced,  saw  in  that  tongue  the  best 
material  for  his  literary  art.  He  addressed  all  classes  of 
readers,  not  in  the  vulgar  speech  of  the  populace,  but  in 
refined  English  as  it  was  spoken  at  the  Court.  He  was  the 
first  author  who  used  the  "  King's  English ; "  and  his  success 
compelled  all  other  writers  in  England  to  abandon  the  Latin 
and  the  French. 

His  Personal  Appearance.  An  ancient  and  probably 
authentic  portrait  of  Chaucer,  attributed  to  his  contempo- 
rary and  fellow-poet,  Occleve,  as  well  as  a  curious  and  beauti- 
ful miniature,  introduced,  according  to  the  fashion  of  those 
times,  intoone  of  the  most  valuable  manuscript  copies  of 
his  works,  give  the  poet  a  pleasing  and  meditative  counten- 
ance, and  indicate  that  he  was  somewhat  corpulent.  In 
the  prologue  to  The  Rime  of  Sir  Thopas,  the  host  of  the 
Tabard,  himself  represented  as  a  "  large  man,"  and  a  "  faire 
burgess,"  calls  upon  Chaucer  in   his  turn  to  contribute  a 


1%  CHAUCER. 

Btory  to  the  amusement  of  the  pilgrims,  and  rallies  him  on 
his  corpulency,  as  well  as  on  his  studious  and  abstracted  air  : 

**  What  man  art  thou  f"  quod  he; 
"  Thou  lokest  as  thou  woldest  fynde  an  hare  ; 
For  ever  on  the  ground  I  se  the  stare. 
Approche  nerc,  and  loke  merrily. 
Now  ware  you,  sires,  and  let  this  man  have  space. 
He  in  the  wast  is  schape  as  well  as  I ; 
He  semeth  elvisch  by  his  countenance, 
For  unto  no  wight  doth  he  daliaunce. 

B.  1328.]  Chaucer's  Social  and  Political  Career.  The 
D.  1400.]  date  of  Chaucer's  birth  is  uncertain.  There  are 
reasons  for  fixing  it  at  1328,  and  yet  others  in 
favor  of  1340.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  child  of 
wealth.  His  surname,  the  French  Chaussier,  points  to  a 
Continental  origin,  which  at  that  time  was  almost  a  sure 
sign  of  aristocratic  rank.  He  was  "  armed  a  knight,"  he 
held  lucrative  and  responsible  positions,  he  married  one  of 
the  Queen's  maids  of  honor.  These  facts  indicate  that  he 
belonged  to  the  higher  classes  of  English  society.  But 
whatever  his  social  position  may  have  been,/his  spirit  was 
tolerant  and  generous ;  he  took  broad  views  of  life,  and, 
having  the  soul  of  a  poet,  he  loved  nature  and  humanity. 

In  the  Testament  of  Love,  Chaucer  speaks  of  London  as 
his  birth-place.  In  his  Court  of  Love  he  speaks  of  himself 
under  the  name  and  character  of  "Philogenet — of  Cam" 
bridge,  Clerk  ;"  but  this  hardly  proves  that  he  was  educated 
at  Cambridge.  Indeed  there  is  no  positive  proof  that  he  was 
a  student  at  either  of  the  great  universities.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  French  in  1359,  and  being  ransomed,  aco  Til- 
ing to  the  custom  of  those  times,  was  enabled  to  return  to 
England  in  13G0. 

He  next  appears,  in  1367,  as  one  of  the  m  valets  of  the 
king's  chamber,"  and  writs  arc  addressed  to  him  as  *  dilectus 
valettus  nosier."  His  official  career  was  active  and  even 
distinguished ;   during  a  long  period,  he   enjoyed  various 


CHAUCEB.  43 

profitable  offices,  having  been  for  twelve  years  comp- 
troller of  the  customs  and  subsidy  of  wools,  skins,  and 
tanned  hides  in  the  port  of  London ;  and  he  seems  also  to 
have  been  occasionally  employed  in  diplomatic  negotiations. 
Thus  he  was,  in  1373,  associated  with  two  citizens  of  Genoa 
in  a  commission  to  Italy.  On  this  occasion  he  is  supposed 
to  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  Petrarch,  then  the  most 
illustrious  man  of  letters  in  Europe.  Partly  in  consequence 
of  his  marriage  with  a  sister  of  the  wife  of  John  of  Gaunt, 
and  partly,  perhaps,  from  sharing  in  some  of  the  political 
and  religious  opinions  of  that  powerful  prince,  Chaucer  was 
identified  with  the  household  and  with  the  party  of  the 
Duke  of  Lancaster.  His  Complaynte  of  the  Black  Knight, 
his  Dream,  and  his  Boke  of  the  Duchesse  were  suggested  to 
him,  the  first  by  the  courtship  of  the  duke  and  the  duchess 
Blanche,  the  second  by  their  marriage,  and  the  third  by  her 
death  in  1369.  In  the  Dream,  allusions  to  Chaucer's  own 
courtship  and  marriage  may  be  found.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  particulars  of  his  life  was  his  election  as  repre- 
sentative for  Kent  in  the  Parliament  of  1386.  In  the 
political  turmoil  of  that  year  he  lost  all  his  offices. 

In  1389,  however,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  clerk 
of  the  king's  works,  which  he  held  for  about  two  years. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that,  though  his  pecuniary  cir- 
cumstances must  have  been,  during  a  great  part  of  his  life, 
in  proportion  to  the  position  he  occupied  in  the  state  and 
in  society,  his  last  days  were  more  or  less  clouded  by  financial 
embarrassment.  His  death  took  place  at  Westminster  on 
the  25th  of  October,  1400. 

His  Literary  Career.  The  literary  and  intellectual  career 
of  Chaucer  divides  ^elf  into  two  periods,  closely  corres- 
ponding to  the  two  great  social  and  political  tendencies 
which  meet  in  the  fourteenth  century.  His  earlier  pro- 
ductions bear  the  stamp  of  the  Chivalric,  his  later  and  more 


44  CHATTCER. 

original  creations,  of  the  Italian  literature.  It  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  poet's  visits  to  Italy,  then  the  fountain  of 
new  literary  life,  brought  him  into  contact  with  the  works 
and  the  men  by  whose  example  the  change  in  the  taste  oi 
Europe  was  brought  about.  The  religious  element,  too, 
enters  largely  into  the  character  of  his  writings.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  ascertain  how  far  the  poet  sympathized  with  the 
bold  doctrines  of  Wycliife,  who,  like  himself,  was  favored 
and  protected  by  John  of  Gaunt,  fourth  son  of  Edward  III. 
Many  satirical  passages  in  his  poems  indicate  that  in  hos- 
tility to  the  monastic  orders  and  in  contempt  for  corrupt 
men  in  the  church,  he  heartily  sympathized  with  Wycliffe; 
but  he  probably  did  not  accept  the  theological  opinions  of 
the  man  who  was  then  considered  the  arch-heretic. 

Eight  of  Chaucer's  longer  poems  are  to  be  ascribed  to  a 
direct  or  indirect  imitation  of  purely  Komance  models,  while 
three  fall  naturally  under  the  category  of  the  Italian  or 
Renaissance  type.  Of  the  former  class  the  principal  are 
the  Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  the  Court  of  Love,  the  Assembly 
of  Fowls,  the  Cuchow  and  the  Nightingale,  the  Flower  and 
the  Leaf,  Chaucer's  Dream,  the  Boke  of  the  Duc/usse,  and 
the  House  of  Fame.  Under  the  latter  we  must  range  the 
Legende  of  Goode  Women,  Troilus  and  Creseide,  Atwhidu 
and  Arcyte,  and  above  all  the  Canterbury  Talcs. 

Poems  of  the  Chivalric  Type.  The  Romaunt  of  the  Rose 
is  a  translation  of  the  famous  allegory,  L>e  Roman  de  hi 
the  most  highly-prized  specimen  of  the  early  French  lit  na- 
ture. The  original  is  of  inordinate  length,  containing 
twenty-two  thousand  verses,  even  in  the  unfinished  state  in 
which  it  was  left.  According  to  the  almost  universal  prac- 
tice of  the  old  Romance  poets,  the  st^y  is  put  into  the  Conn 
of  a  dream  or  vision.  Chaucer's  translation  is  but  a  third 
as  long  as  the  original.  The  portions  omitted  either  never 
were   translated   by   the   BngliBh   poet,  on  account  of  hia 


CHAUCER.  45 

dislike  to  their  immoral  and  irreligious  tone,  or  were  omitted 
by  the  copyist  from  the  early  English  manuscripts.  The 
translation  gives  proof  of  Chaucer's  remarkable  ear  for 
metrical  harmony,  and  also  of  his  picturesque  imagination ; 
for  though  in  many  places  he  follows  the  original  with 
scrupulous  fidelity,  he  not  infrequently  adds  vigorous 
touches  of  his  own.  The  most  remarkable  illustration  of 
this  is  the  description  of  the  character  of  a  true  gentleman, 
not  a  hint  of  which  can  be  found  in  the  original.* 

The  Court  of  Love,  a  typical  poem  of  the  age,  is  written 
in  the  name  of  "  Philogenet  of  Cambridge,  clerk  "  (or  stu- 
dent), who  is  directed  by  Mercury  to  appear  at  the  Court  of 
Venus.  He  gives  a,  description  of  the  Castle  of  Love,  where 
Admetus  and  Alcestis  preside  as  king  and  queen.  Philo- 
genet is  conducted  to  the  Temple,  sees  Venus  and  Cupid, 
and  hears  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  twenty  command- 
ments of  Love  administered  to  the  faithful.  The  hero  is 
then  presented  to  the  Lady  Eosial,  with  whom,  in  strict 
accordance  with  Provencal  poetical  custom,  he  has  become 
enamoured  in  a  dream.  The  most  curious  part  of  the  poem 
is  the  celebration  of  the  grand  festival  of  Love,  on  May-day, 
when  a  parody  of  the  Catholic  matin  service  for  Trinity 
Sunday  is  chanted  by  various  birds  in  honor  of  the  God  of 
Love. 

In  the  Assembly  of  Foivls  we  have  a  debate  carried  on 
before  the  Parliament  of  Birds. 

The  Cuckow  and  the  Nightingale,  though  of  no  great 
length,  is  one  of  the  most  charming  among  this  class  of 
Chaucer's  productions:  it  describes  a  controversy  between 
the  two  birds.  To  the  poets  and  allegorists  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  Cuckoo  was  the  emblem  of  profligate  celibacy, 
while  the  Nigh  tingle  was  the  type  of  constant  and  virtuous 
conjugal  love.  In  tms  poem  we  meet  with  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  that  exquisite  sensibility  to  the  sweetness  of  external 

*  Lines  2187-2274. 


46  CHAUCER. 

nature,  and  especially  to  the  song  of  birds,  which  was  pos- 
sessed by  Chaucer  in  a  pre-eminent  degree.* 

The  Flower  and  the  Leaf  is  an  allegory,  probably  written 
to  celebrate  the  marriage  of  Philippa,  John  of  Gaunt's 
daughter,  with  John,  king  of  Portugal.  A  lady,  unable  to 
sleep,  wanders  out  into  a  forest,  on  a  spring  morning,  and 
seating  herself  in  a  delightful  arbor,  listens  to  the  alternate 
songs  of  the  goldfinch  and  the  nightingale.  Her  reverie  is 
suddenly  interrupted  by  the  approach  of  a  band  of  ladies 
clothed  in  white,  and  garlanded  with  laurel  and  woodbine. 
They  join  their  queen  in  singing  a  roundelay,  and  are  in 
their  turn  interrupted  by  the  sound  of  trumpets  and  by  the 
appearance  of  nine  armed  knights,  followed  by  a  splendid 
train  of  cavaliers  and  ladies.  These  joust  for  an  hour,  and 
then  advancing  to  the  first  company,  each  knight  leads  a 
lady  to  a  laurel,  to  which  they  make  an  obeisance.  Another 
troop  of  ladies  approaches,  habited  in  green,  and  doing  rev- 
erence to  a  tuft  of  flowers,  while  the  leader  sings  a  pastoral 
song,  in  honor  of  the  daisy.  The  sports  are  broken  off, 
first  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  which  withers  all  the  flowers, 
and  afterwards  by  a  violent  storm,  in  which  the  knights 
and  the  ladies  in  green  are  pitifully  drenched  ;  while  the 
company  in  white  shelter  themselves  under  the  laurel. 
Then  follows  the  explanation  of  the  allegory  :  the  white 
queen  and  her  party  represent  Chastity;  the  knights,  the 
Nine  Worthies ;  the  cavaliers  crowned  with  laurel,  the 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  the  Peers  of  Charlemagne. 
and  the  Knights  of  the  Garter.  The  Queen  and  ladies  in 
green  represent  Flora  and  the  followers  of  sloth  and  idle- 
ness. In  general,  the  flower  typifies  vain  pleasure  ;  the  leaf, 
virtue  and  industry;  the  former  being  "  a  thing  lading  with 
every  blast,"  while  the  latter  "  abides  with  the  root,  not- 
withstanding the  frosts  and  winter  sftrms."  The  poem  is 
written  in  the  seven-lined  stanza,  and  contains  many  curious 
and  beautiful  passages. 

*  See  the  inimitable  paseago  from  lino  65  to  line  85. 


CHAUCER.  47 

Poems  of  the  Italian  Type.  For  its  extraordinary  union 
of  brilliant  description  with  learning  and  humor,  the  House 
of  Fame  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  establish  Chaucer's  reputa- 
tion. Under  the  popular  form  of  a  dream,  it  gives  a 
picture  of  the  Temple  of  Glory,  crowded  with  aspirants  for 
immortal  renown,  and  adorned  with  statues  of  great  poets 
and  historians.  The  description  of  this  temple  is  the  most 
interesting  part  of  the  poem?  Its  architectural  details  are 
carefully  set  forth,  and  its  beauties  are  charmingly  de- 
scribed. In  richness  of  fancy  it  far  surpasses  Pope's  imita- 
tion, the  Temple  of  Fame.  When  the  poet  leaves  the  temple, 
he  is,  in  his  dream,  borne  away  by  an  eagle  to  a  house  sixty 
miles  in  length,  built  of  twigs  and  blown  about  in  the  wind. 
This  is  the  House  of  Rumor,  thronged  with  pilgrims,  pardon- 
ers, sailors,  and  other  retailers  of  wonderful  reports. 

"  And  eke  this  hous  hath  of  entrees 
As  fell  of  leves  as  ben  on  trees, 
In  somer  whan  they  grene  ben, 
And  on  the  rove  men  may  yet  seen 
A  thousand  holes,  and  wel  moo 
To  leten  wel  the  soune  oute  goo." 

The  Legende  of  Goode  Women  was  one  of  Chaucer's 
latest  compositions.  Its  apologies  for  what  had  been  writ- 
ten in  his  earlier  years,  and  its  mention  of  many  of  his  pre- 
vious works,  clearly  prove  that  it  was  produced  after  much 
of  his  busy  life  was  spent.  The  avowed  purpose  of  the  poem 
is  to  make  a  retraction  of  his  unfavorable  descriptions  of  the 
character  of  women ;  and  for  this  purpose  he  undertakes  to 
give  a  poetical  sketch  of  nineteen  ladies,  whose  lives  of 
chastity  and  worthiness  redeem  the  sex  from  his  former  re- 
proaches. The  work  was  left  incomplete.  The  nine  sketches 
given  are  closely  translated  from  Ovid,  but  the  coloring 
of  the  stories  is  Catholic  and  mediaeval.  Dido,  Cleopatra 
and  Medea  are  regarded  as  the  martyrs  of  Saint  Venus  and 
Saint  Cupid.  Many  striking  descriptions  are  introduced  by 
Chaucer.     The  Prologue  is  by  far  the  finest  portion  of  the 


48  THE    CANTERBURY    TALES. 

poem.     Here,  and  everywhere  in  Chaucer,  the  rhythm  is 
perfect  when  the  verses  are  properly  read. 

Chaucer's  age  placed  his  Troilus  and  Creseide  nearest  to 
the  Canterbury  Tales.  The  material  for  this  poem  was 
drawn  from  Boccaccio.  The  story  was  common,  and  ex- 
tremely popular  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  even  later. 
Shakespeare  himself  has  dramatized  it.  In  many  passages 
Chaucer  adhered  closely  to  the  text  of  Boccaccio ;  but  in 
the  conduct  of  the  story,  in  the  development  of  ideal 
characters,  and  in  a  delicate  appreciation  of  moral  senti- 
ment, he  was  far  superior  to  his  Italian  contemporary.  The 
poem  is  written  in  the  musical  Italian  stanza  of  seven  lines. 

The  Canterbury  Tales.  Chaucer's  greatest  and  most 
original  work  is  the  Canterbury  Tales  (13).*  It  is  in  this 
that  he  has  poured  forth  in  inexhaustible  abundance  his 
stores  of  wit,  humor,  pathos,  and  knowledge  of  humanity  : 
it  is  this  which  will  place  him,  till  the  remotest  posterity, 
in  the  first  rank  among  poets  and  character-painters.  The 
magical  power  of  the  poet  evokes  our  ancestors  from  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  causes  them  to  pass  before  our 
vision  "in  their  habit,  as  they  lived,"  acting  and  speaking 
in  a  manner  invariably  true  to  nature. 

Its  Plan.  The  plan  of  the  Canterbury  Tales,  though  very 
simple,  is  masterly.  It  enables  the  poet  to  make  the  repre- 
sentatives of  various  classes  of  society  tell  a  series  of  tales. 
extremely  beautiful  when  regarded  as  compositions  and 
judged  on  their  independent  merits,  but  deriving  an  infi- 
nitely higher  interest  from  the  way  in  which  they  harmonise 
with  their  respective  narrators.  It  also  gives  him  opportunity 
to  display  his  genius  for  descriptions  of  nature.  After  giving 
a  brief,  picturesque  description  of  spring,  the  poel  informs  un 
that,  being  about  to  make  B  pilgrimage  from  London  to  the 
shrine  of  Thomas  a  Becket  in  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury, 

*The  heavy-faced  figures  throughout  this  work  refer  to  selections  from  Skaw1* 
Choice  Specimens  of  English  Literature. 


THE    CANTERBUKY    TALES.  49 

he  passes  the  night  previous  to  his  departure  at  the  Tabard 
Inn  in  South wark.  While  at  the  "hostelrie"  he  meets 
many  pilgrims  bound  to  the  same  destination  : — 

"  In  Southwerk  at  the  Tabard  as  I  l*y, 
Redy  to  wenden  on  my  pilgrimage 
To  Canterbury  with  ful  devout  corage. 
At  night  was  come  into  that  hostelrie 
Wei  nyne  and  twenty  in  a  companye  * 
Of  sondry  folk,  by  aveuture  y-falle 
In  felawschipe,  and  pilgryms  were  thei  alle, 
That  toward  Canterbury  wolden  ryde." 

This  goodly  company,  assembled  in  a  manner  so  natural 
in  those  times  of  pilgrimages  and  of  difficult  and  dangerous 
roads,  agree  to  travel  in  a  body;  and  at  supper  Harry  Bailey, 
the  host  of  the  Tabard,  a  jolly  and  sociable  fellow,  proposes 
to  accompany  the  party  as  a  guide,  and  suggests  that  they 
may  much  enliven  the  tedium  of  their  journey  by  relating 
stories  as  they  ride.  He  is  accepted' by  the  whole  society  as 
a  judge  or  moderator,  by  whose  decisions  every  one  is  to 
abide.  The  plan  of  the  work,  had  Chaucer  completed 
it,  would  have  comprised  the  adventures  on  the  journey,  the 
arrival  at  Canterbury,  a  description,  in  all  probability,  of 
the  splendid  religious  ceremonies  and  the  visits  to  the 
numerous  shrines  and  relics  in  the  cathedral,  the  return  to 
London,  the  farewell  supper  at  the  Tabard,  and  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  pleasant  company.  The  jovial  guide  proposes 
that  each  pilgrim  shall  relate  two  tales  on  the  journey  out, 
and  two  more  on  the  way  home ;  and  that,  on  the  return 
of  the  party  to  London,  he  who  shall  be  adjudged  to  have 
related  the  best  and  most  amusing  story,  shall  sup  at  the 
common  cost.  Such  is  the  general  plan  of  the  poem,  and 
its  development  is  natural.  Some  of  the  stories  suggest 
others,  just  as  would  happen  in  real  life,  under  the  same 
circumstances.  In  the  inimitable  description  of  manners, 
persons,  dress,  and  all  the  equipage,  with  which  the  poet  has 

*  In  his  subsequent  enumeration  (see  next  page)  Chaucer  counts  thirty  persons. 


50  THE     CANTERBURY     TALES. 

introduced  them,  we  behold  a  vast  and  minute  portrait 
gallery  of  the  social  England  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The 
pilgrims  are  from  all  classes  of  society  : — (1)  A  Knight;  (2) 
A  Squire;  (3)  A  Yeoman;  (4)  A  Prioress,  a  lady  of  rank, 
superior  of  a  nunnery ;  (5,  6,  7,  8)  A  Nun  and  three  Priests, 
in  attendance  upon  this  lady ;  (9)  A  Monk,  represented  as 
handsomely  dressed  and  equipped,  and  passionately  fond  of 
hunting  and  good  cheer  ;  (1 0)  A  Friar,  or  Mendicant  Monk ; 
(11)  A  Merchant;  (12)  A  Clerk,  or  Student  of  the  University 
of  Oxford ;  (13)  A  Serjeant  of  the  Law ;  (14)  A  Franklin,  or 
rich  country  gentleman;  (15,  1G,  17,  18,  19)  Five  wealthy 
burgesses,  or  tradesmen, — a  Haberdasher,  or  dealer  in  silk 
and  cloth,  a  Carpenter,  a  Weaver,  a  Dyer,  and  a  Tapisser, 
or  maker  of  carpets  and  hangings;  (20)  A  Cook,  or  rather 
the  keeper  of  a  cook-shop;  (21)  A  Shipman,  the  master  of 
a  trading  vessel ;  (22)  A  Doctor  of  Physic;  (23)  A  Wife  of 
Bath,  a  rich  cloth-manufacturer;  (24)  A  Parson,  or  secular 
parish  priest;  (25)  A  Ploughman,  the  brother  of  the  preced- 
ing personage;  (2G)  A  Miller;  (27)  A  Manciple,  or  stewa,.1. 
of  a  college  or  religious  house;  (28)  A  Reeve;  (29)  A 
Sompnour,  or  Sumner,  an  officer  whose  duty  was  to  summon 
delinquents  to  appear  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts;  (30)  A 
Pardoner,  or  vendor  of  Indulgences  from  Home.  To  these 
thirty  persons,  must  be  added  Chaucer  himself,  and  the 
Host  (ft  the  Tabard,  making  in  all  thirty-two. 

The  Plan  Not  Executed.  If  each  of  these  pilgrims  had 
related  two  tales  on  the  journey  to  Canterbury,  and  two  on 
the  return,  the  work  would  have  contained  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  stories,  exclusive  of  the*  subordinate  inci- 
denta  and  conversations;  but  the  pilgrims  do  not  arrive  at 
their  destination,  and  there  are  many  evidences  of  confusion 
in  the  tales  which  Chaucer  has  given  as,  leading  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  materials  were  not  only  incomplete,  but 
also  were  left  in  a  confused  state  by  the  poet    In  no  instance 


THE     CANTERBURY     TALES.  fl 

does  he  seem  to  have  invented  the  intrigues  of  his  stories* 
He  freely  borrowed  them,  either  from  the  fabliaux  of  the 
Provencal  poets,  the  legends  of  the  mediaeval  chroniclers,' 
from  the  storehouse  of  the  Gesta  Romanorum,  or  from  the 
early  Italian  writers.  The  stories  that  we  possess  are  twenty- 
five  in  number, — three  of  which,  the  Cook's,  the  Squire's, 
and  Chaucer's  first,  are  "left  half  told,"  and  one,  Gamelyn,* 
is  either  entirely  spurious  or  written  by  the  poet  for  a  differ- 
ent purpose.  Eleven  of  the  pilgrims  are  left  silent.  A 
Canon  and  his  Yeoman  unexpectedly  join  the  cavalcade 
during  the  journey,  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  this  episode, 
which  was  probably  an  afterthought  of  the  poet,  takes 
place  on  the  journey  to  or  from  Canterbury.  The  Canon, 
who  is  represented  as  an  Alchemist,  half  swindler  and  half 
dupe,  is  driven  away  from  the  company  by  shame  at  his 
attendant's  indiscreet  disclosures  ;  and  the  Yeoman,  remain- 
ing with  the  pilgrims,  relates  a  most  amusing  story  of  the 
villainous  artifices  of  the  charlatans  who  pretended  to 
possess  the  Great  Arcanum.  The  stories  narrated  by  the 
pilgrims  are  admirably  introduced  by  what  the  author  calls 
"prologues,"  consisting  of  remarks  and  criticisms  on  the 
preceding  tale,  and  of  incidents  of  the  journey. 

The  tales  are  all  in  verse,  with  the  exception  of  two,  that 
of  the  Parson,  and  Chaucer's  second  narrative.  Those  in 
verse  exhibit  an  endless  variety  of  metrical  forms  used  with 
consummate  ease  and  dexterity ;  indeed,  no  English  poet  is 
more  exquisitely  melodious  than  Chaucer. 

Two  Classes  of  Tales.  The  Tales  themselves  may  be 
roughly  divided  into  the  two  great  classes  of  pathetic  and 
humorous.  We  are  filled  with  delight  and  admiration, 
whether  we  study  their  wonderful  painting  of  character,  the 
conciseness  and  vividness  of  their  descriptions,  the  loftiness 

*  The  Cook's  Tale  of  Gamelyn,  if  really  written  by  Chaucer,  was  a  close  copy  ol 
one  of  the  ballad  stories  common  among  the  people,  and  was  perhaps  intended 
to  be  related  on  the  journey  home. 


52  THE     CANTERBURY     TALES. 

of  their  sentiment  and  the  intensity  of  their  pathos,  or  revel 
in  the  richness  of  their  humor  and  the  surpassingly  droll, 
yet  perfectly  natural  extravagance  of  their  comic  scenes. 
The  finest  of  the  pathetic  stories  are,  the  KnigMs  Tale — 
the  longest  of  them  all,  in  which  is  related  the  adventure 
of  Palamon  and  Arcite ;  the  Squire's  Tale,  a  wild,  half- 
Oriental  story  of  love,  chivalry,  and  enchantment ;  the 
Man  of  Law's  Tale,  the  beautiful  and  pathetic  story  of  Con- 
stance ;  the  Prioress's  Tale,  the  charming  legend  of  "  litel 
Hew  of  Lincoln,"  the  child  who  was  murdered  for  singing 
his  hymn  to  the  Virgin ;  and,  above  all,  the  Clerk  of 
Oxford's  Tale,  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  pathetic  narration 
in  the  whole  range  of  literature.  This,  the  story  of  Griselda, 
the  model  and  heroine  of  wifely  patience  and  obedience,  is 
the  tenderest  of  all  the  serious  narratives,  as  the  Knight's 
Tale  is  the  masterpiece  among  the  descriptions  of  love  and 
chivalric  magnificence. 

The  Knight's  Tale  is  freely  borrowed  from  the  Theseida 
of  Boccaccio.  Though  the  action  and  personages  of  this 
noble  story  are  assigned  to  classical  antiquity,  the  senti- 
ments, manners,  and  feelings  of  the  persons  introduced  arc 
those  of  chivalric  Europe;  the  "Two  Noble  Kinsmen," 
Palamon  and  Arcite,  being  types  of  the  knightly  character. 

The  Squire's  Tale  bears  evident  marks  of  Oriental  origin  ; 
but  whether  it  be  a  legend  derived  from  Eastern  literature, 
or  received  by  Chaucer  after  having  filtered  through  a 
Romance  version,  is  now  uncertain.  It  is  equal  to  the  pre- 
ceding story  in  splendor  and  variety  of  incident  and  in 
word-painting,  but  far  inferior  in  depth  of  pathos  and 
elevation  of  sentiment;  yet  it  was  by  the  Squire's  Tale  t hat 
Milton  cfiaracterized  Chaucer  in  that  passage  of  the  Pense- 
roso  where  he  evokes  recollections  of  the  great  poet : — 

"  Or  call  up  him  that  left,  half  told 
The  story  of  Cambuncan  bold. 
Of  Cambal,  and  of  Al^xrsifc, 
Aud  who  had  Cauace  to  wife 


The    canterbury   tales.  53 

That  owned  the  virtuous  riug  and  glass ; 
And  of  the  wondrous  horse  of  brass 
On  which  the  Tartar  king  did  ride. 

The  Man  of  Law's  Tale  is  taken  with  little  variation  from 
Gower's  voluminous  poem,  "  Confessio  Amantis"  the  inci- 
dents of  Gower's  narrative  being  in  their  turn  traceable  to  a 
multitude  of  romances. 

The  most  pathetic  of  Chaucer's  stories,  that  of  Patient 
Griselda,  narrated  by  the  Clerk  of  Oxford,  is  traceable  to 
Petrarch's  Latin  translation  of  the  last  tale  in  Boccaccio's 
Decameron. 

The  finest  of  Chaucer's  humorous  stories  are  those  of 
the  Miller,  the  Reeve,  and  the  Sompnour.  Among  these  it 
is  difficult  to  give  the  palm  for  drollery,  acute  painting 
of  human  nature,  and  exquisite  ingenuity  of  incident.  It 
is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  comic  stories  turn  upon 
events  of  a  kind  which  the  refinement  of  modern  manners 
renders  it  impossible  to  analyze;  but  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  society  in  Chaucer's  day,  though  perhaps  not  less 
moral  in  reality,  was  far  more  outspoken  and  simple,  and 
permitted  and  enjoyed  allusions  which  are  proscribed  by  our 
sense  of  decency. 

Two  of  these  tales,  as  has  been  stated,  are  written  in  prose. 
These  deviations  from  what  seems  to  have  been  the  original 
plan,  are  very  naturally  made.  When  Chaucer  is  applied 
to  by  the  Host,  he  commences  a  rambling,  puerile  romance 
of  chivalry,  entitled  the  Rime  of  Sir  Thopas,  which  promises 
to  be  an  interminable  story  of  knight-errant  adventures, 
combats  with  giants,  dragons,  and  enchanters,  and  is  written 
in  the  exact  style  and  metre  of  the  Trouvere  narrative 
poems — the  only  instance  of  this  versification  in  the  Canter- 
bury Tales.  He  goes  on  gallantly  "  in  the  style  his  books  of 
chivalry  had  taught  him,"  like  Don  Quixote,  "  imitating,  as 
near  as  he  could,  their  very  phrase ; "  but  he  is  suddenly 
interrupted,  with  many  expressions  of  comic  disgust,  by  the 
merrv  host: — 


54  THE     CANTERBURY    TALES. 

"  *  No  mor  of  this,  for  Goddes  dignitc !  * 
Quod  our  Hoste,  '  for  thou  makest  nie 
So  wery  of  thy  verray  lewedneese, 
That,  al  so  wisly  God  my  soule  blesse, 
Myn  eeres  aken  for  thy  drafty  speche. 
Now  such  a  rym  the  (level  I  byteche ! 
This  may  wel  be  rym  dogerel,'  quod  he." 

Chaucer  took  this  ingenious  method  of  ridiculing  and 
caricaturing  the  Eomance  poetry,  which  had  reached  the 
lowest  point  of  the  commonplace.  Then,  with  great  good- 
nature and  a  readiness  which  marks  the  man  of  the  world, 
he  offers  to  tell  "  a  litel  thing  in  prose  ; "  and  commences 
the  long  allegorical  tale  of  Melibeus  and  his  -wife  Pritdencs, 
in  which,  though  the  matter  is  often  tiresome  enough,  he 
appears  pre-eminent  among  the  prose  writers  of  his  day. 

The  other  prose  tale  is  narrated  by  the  Parson.  He  is  rep- 
resented as  a  simple  and  narrow-minded  though  pious  and 
large-hearted  pastor,  who  characteristically  refuses  to  indulge 
the  company  with  what  can  minister  only  to  vain  pleasure, 
and  proposes  something  that  may  tend  to  edification,  "  mo- 
ralite  and  vertuous  matiere" ;  and  so  he  commences  a  Ions 
and  very  curious  sermon  on  the  seven  deadly  sins,  their  causes 
and  remedies.  His  discourse  is  an  interesting  specimen!  of 
the  theological  literature  of  the  day.  It  is  divided  and  sob- 
divided  with  all  the  painful  minuteness  of  scholastic  divinity; 
but  it  breathes  throughout  a  noble  spirit  of  piety,  and  in 
many  passages  attains  great  dignity  of  expression. 

Besides  these   two  Canterbury  Tales,  Chaucer  wrote  in 
prose  a  translation  of  Boethius's  De  Consolation?,  an  imita- 
tion of  that  work,  under  the  title  of  The  Testament  of  Love, 
and  an  incomplete  astrological  work,  On  the  Aetrokti 
dressed  to  his  son  Lewis. 

The  general  plan  of  the  Canterbury  Talcs  is  believed  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  Decameron  of  Boccaccio,  though 
the  English  poet's  conception  and  method  are  superior  to 
that  of  the  Italian,  whose  ten  accomplished  young  gentle- 
men and  ladies  assemble  in  their  luxurious  villa  to  eaoape 
from  the  terrible  plague  which  is  devastating  Florence. 


CHAUCER.  55 

Chaucer  easily  read.  The  difficulty  of  reading  and  un- 
derstanding Chaucer  has  been  much  exaggerated.  The 
principal  facts  that  the  student  should  keep  in  mind  are, 
that  the  many  French  words  in  his  writings  had  not  been  so 
modified,  by  changes  in  their  orthography  and  pronuncia- 
tion, as  to  become  Anglicized,  and  are  therefore  to  be  read 
with  their  French  accent;  secondly,  that  the  final  e  which 
terminates  many  English  words  is  to  be  pronounced  as  a 
separate  syllable,  where  the  word  following  does  not  begin 
with  a  vowel  or  with  the  letter  h ;  and,  finally,  that  the  past 
termination  of  the  verb,  ed,  is  almost  invariably  to  be  made 
a  separate  syllable.*  Some  curious  traces  of  the  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  grammar  are  still  retained,  as  the  inflections  of  the 
personal  and  possessive  pronouns,  together  with  a  few  details 
of  the  Teutonic  formation  of  the  verb. 


*  The  following  metrical  division  of  the  first  twelve  verses  of  The  Prologui 
gives  illustration  of  these  peculiarities  of  accent  and  pronunciation : 

u  Whan  that  |  April  |  le  with  |  his  schow  |  res  6Woot  |  e, 
The  drought  |  of  Marche  |  hath  per  |  ced  |  to  |  the  root  |  e, 
And  ba  |  thud  eve  |  ry  veyne  I  in  suich  |  licour 
Of  which  |  vertue  |  engen  |  dred  is  |  the  flour ; 
Whan  Ze  |  phyrus  |  eek  with  |  his  swe  |  te  breeth 
Enspi  |  rud  hath  |  in  eve  |  ry  holte  |  and  heeth 
The  ten  |  dre  crop  |  pes  and  |  the  yon  |  ge  Sonne 
Hath  in  |  the  Ram  |  his  hal  |  fe  cours  |  i-ronne. 
And  sma  |  le  fow  |  les  ma  |  ken  rae  |  lodie 
That  s'le  |  pen  al  |  the  night  |  with  o  |  pen  yhe, 
So  prik  |  eth  hem  |  nature  |  in  here  |  corages  :— 
Thanne  Ion  |  gen  folk  to  gon  |  on  pil  |  grimages,"  &c. 

In  these  verses  the  French  accent  must  be  given  to  the  words  licour,  vertue,  nature, 
corages,  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  rhythm.  When  Chaucer  used 
them  they  had  not  become  Anglicized  in  pronu  nciation.  Aprille,  swete,  yonge,  halfe, 
smale,  have  the  final  e  pronounced  as  a  separate  syllable,  for  the  words  succeeding 
them  do  not  begin  with  vowels  nor  with  the  letter  h  ;  but  in  Marche,  veyne,  holte, 
nature,  the  final  e  is  silent. 

Note.— The  student  will  find  special  pleasure  in  studying  the  annotations  to  the 
Prologue  and  the  Knighfs  Tale,  as  edited  by  Dr.  Richard  Morris,  in  the  Clarendon 
Press  Series,  Professor  Carpenter's  Literature  of  the  XlVth  Century,  James  Russell 
Lowell's  essay  on  Chaucer,  and  an  essay  in  the  Westminster  Review,  published  in 
July,  1866. 


56  CHAUCEft. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  reduce  Chaucer's  writ- 
ings to  modern  English,  in  order  to  introduce  him  to  popular 
favor;  but,  to  be  thoroughly  enjoyed,  his  writings  must  be 
read  in  their  original  diction.  Distinguished  poets  have 
tried  their  skill  in  interpreting  him,  but  with  indifferent 
success.  Wordsworth  has  adhered  with  tolerable  fidelity 
to  the  language,  and  consequently  to  the  spirit,  of  the  origi- 
nal. His  Cuckoo  and  Nightingale,  Prioress's  Tale,  and 
Troilus  and  Cresida,  retain  much  of  Chaucer ;  but  the  less 
sympathetic  minds  of  Dryden  and  Pope,  in  attempting  to 
improve  his  expression,  have  impaired  his  sentiment. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

1.  Chaucer's  personal  appearance* 

2.  His  social  and  political  career, 

3.  J  lis  literary  career. 

4.  His  Romantic  poetry. 

5.  His  poems  of  the  Italian  type. 

6.  The  Canterbury  Talcs. 

7.  Their  incomplete  execution. 

8.  The  two  claM863  of  talcs. 

9.  The  ease  with  which  Chaucer  may  be  rea*l< 


CHAPTHfi  ¥. 

THE    CONTEMPORARIES    OF    CHAUCER 

EARE  intellectual  power  is  never  monopolized  by  one  man 
of  a  generation;  it  is  held  and  displayed  by  a  group  of 
men.  In  literature  a  "  bright  particular  star  "  does  not  shine  forth 
unattended.  Other  stars  accompany  it,  and  shed  a  steady,  though 
less  brilliant,  lustre  over  the  literary  firmament.  Throughout  the 
epochs  of  English  as  well  as  of  classical  literature,  we  find  the 
great  names  grouped  into  distinct  constellations  around  stars  whose 
surpassing  radiance,  by  attracting  the  gaze  exclusively  to  them- 
selves, often  makes  us  insensible  to  the  real  splendor  of  their 
humble  companions. 

The  Vision  of  Piers  Ploughman.  No  writings — not  even  those 
of  Chaucer  himself— so  faithfully  reflect  the  popular  feeling  during 
the  great  social  and  religious  movements  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
as  the  bitterly  satirical  poem,  The  Vision  of  Piers  Ploughman.  (11.) 
The  deep-seated  discontent  of  the  Commons  with  the  course  of 
affairs  in  Church  and  State  found  a  voice  in  this  vigorous  allegory. 

Among  the  imitations  called  forth  by  the  popularity  of  the 
Vision  are,  the  Greed  of  Piers  Ploughman,  and  the  Complaint  of 
Piers  Ploughman.  They  bear  resemblance  to  the  form  and  spirit  of 
their  model,  but  in  style  and  execution  they  are  of  much  lower 
order.  Allusions  in  the  Vision  to  the  treaty  of  Bretigny,  made  in 
1360,  and  to  the  great  tempest  of  1362,  seem  to  fix  the  later  year. 
or  thereabouts,  as  the  time  of  its  composition ;  and  tradition  assigns 
its  authorship  to  William*  Langlande,  who  is  otherwise  un- 
known. Two  facts  are  clear  from  the  work  itself, — that  the  writer 
was  a  Churchman,  and  that  he  sympathized  heartily  with  the  rising 

*  The  author  of  this  work  is  referred  to  as  Robert,  as  William,  and  sometimes  as 
John  Langlande.    He  calls  himself  "  William.'* 


58  PIERS     PLOUGHMAN. 

spirit  of  the  laboring  classes.  In  this  work  Piers  Ploughman  (or 
Peter  the  Ploughman)  is  an  allegorical  personage.  The  Latiu  title 
more  exactly  conveys  the  nature  of  the  Vision  ;  it  is  Visio  WiUielnti 
de  Pietro  Ploughman — a  vision  seen  by  the  author,  who  is  here  called 
William,  concerning  Peter,  a  ploughman,  who  is  the  personification 
of  the  peasantry  of  England.  The  dreamer,  exhausted  by  his  long 
wanderings,  goes  to  sleep  on  the  Malvern  Hills,  and  soon  becomes 
aware  of  a  goodly  company  gathered  before  him  in  a  field  : — 

"  A  fair  feeld  ful  of  folk 
Fond  I  there  bitwene. 
Of  alle  manere  of  men, 
The  meene  and  the  riche, 
Werchynge  and  wandrynge.'* 

He  is  somewhat  puzzled  at  first  to  understand  what  all  this  may 
mean,  when  a  lady,  descending  from  a  castle,  announces  herself 
as  Holy  Church,  expounds  to  him  the  meaning  of  the  scene  that 
lies  before  him,  and  after  leaving  the  key  of  the  mystery  with 
him,  departs.  The  poet  describes  the  various  incidents  that  take 
place  in  this  typical  assembly,  each  of  which  shadows  forth  in 
simple  allegory  some  move  in  the  great  game  played  by  king, 
ecclesiastic,  and  noble.  The  work  contains  nearly  fifteen  thousand 
verses,  arranged  in  twenty  sections,  so  little  connected  with  one 
another  as  to  appear  almost  separate  poems.  Its  prevalent  tone  is 
one  of  spirited  satire,  aimed  against  abuses  and  vices  in  general, 
but  specially  against  the  corruptions  of  the  Church. 

The  Greed  of  Piers  Ploughman  is  supposed  to  have  been  written 
twenty-three  years  later  than  the  Vision.  Though  an  imitation  of 
the  earlier  work,  it  differs  from  it  in  many  important  respects.  In 
it  Piers  Ploughman  is  no  longer  an  allegorical  character,  but 
son  of  the  soil.  The  author,  an  ardent  disciple  of  Wycliffe,  attacks 
the  doctrines  as  well  as  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  and  refrains 
from  political  satire.  The  Complaint  of  Purs  Plo  u ghaut ■/<  is  a  mere 
fragment. 

These  three  works  are  without  regularity  in  the  Length  of 
the  lines,  and  without  rhyme.  They  attempt  to  revive  the  use 
of  alliteration,  which  was  a  distinctive  feature  of  poetry  in  England 
previous  to  the  introduction  of  rhymes  by  the  Normans.  This 
alliteration  consists  in  such  an  arrangement  and  selection  of  the 


JOHN     GOWEK.  59 

words,  that  at  least  two  of  the  most  important  words  in  the  first 
line  of  a  couplet,  and  at  least  one  word  in  the  second  line,  begin 
with  the  same  letter.  The  opening  verses  of  the  Vision  are  given  in 
illustration : 

*l  In  a  somer  seeon 
Whan  softe  was  the  sonne, 

I  sAoop  *  me  into  s^roudes,t  i 

As  I  a  sheep  t  weere. 

"  In  Aahite  as  an  Aeremite, 
UnAoly  of  workes, 
TPente  toide  in  this  world 
TFondres  to  here." 

The  quaintness  of  this  metrical  device  and  the  character  ot  the 
allegory  indicate  that  the  author  was  attempting  to  gain  whatever 
advantage  there  might  be  in  a  return  to  the  ancient  English  style 
of  poetry.  This  poem  attained  great  popularity  when  it  was  first 
printed  and  was  effective  in  advancing  the  principles  of  the  Refor- 
mation. 

[B,  1325  ?]  John  Gower.  But  the  name  most  closely  linked 
[D.  1408.]  with  Chaucer's  is  that  of  John  Gower.  During  the 
greater  part  of  their  lives  there  was  an  intimate 
friendship  between  these  two  men.  In  their  writings  they  gave 
each  other  fond  praises.  Chaucer  dedicated  Troilm  and  Creseide 
to  "  Moral  Gower ;  "  and  the  first  edition  of  the  Confessio  Amantis 
(12)  compliments  Chaucer  highly. 

Gower's  life  was  not  so  public,  nor  so  full  of  vicissitudes,  as  his 
friend's.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  and  passed  his  years  quietly  in 
literary  work.  He  seems  to  have  enjoyed  a  dignified  self-satisfac- 
tion in  his  compositions.  His  learning  was  extensive,  and  he  was 
somewhat  pedantic  in  its  display.  As  the  French  was  still  the 
language  of  educated  people  in  England,  he  used  the  alien  tongue 
in  the  Speculum  Meditantis,  a  work  no  longer  to  be  found.  When 
he  undertook  to  describe  the  diseased  condition  of  English  society, 
he  did  not  adopt  his  native  speech,  but,  in  the  Vox  Glamantis,  gave 
utterance  to  his  feelings  in  Latin  verse.  When  Chaucer  had  shown 
the  capabilities  of  English,  Gower,  in  his  blind  old  age,  wrote  the 

*  Shaped.  t  Clothes,  %  Shepherd. 


60  JOfiff    GOWEft. 

Confessio  Amaniis  in  that  tongue.  This  work,  though  not  his 
ablest,  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  to  us.  It  was  undertaken  at 
the  request  of  Richard  II.,  to  whom,  the  poet  says, 

•*  Belongeth  my  legeaunce, 
With  all  mine  heartes  obeisaunce." 

The  first  edition  contains  the  celebrated  passage  in  which  Venus 
represents  Chaucer  as  her  disciple  and  poet,  and  expresses  a  wish 
that  in  his  "  later  age  "  he  shall  "  sette  an  end  to  all  his  werke  by 
writing  the  Testament  of  Love."  A  second  edition  differs  from  the 
first  merely  in  the  omission  of  this  compliment,  and  in  the  intro- 
duction of  a  new  prologue,  which  ignores  the  memory  of  Richard, 
and  dedicates  the  work  with  "  entire  affection  "  to  Henry  IV. 

The  poem  consists  of  eight  books,  in  addition  to  the  Prologue  ; 
one  on  each  of  the  seven  deadly  sins,  and  another  on  the  subject  of 
philosophy  generally.  It  is  a  collection  of  stories,  strung  together 
on  a  plan  much  inferior  to  Chaucer's.  This  poem  has  a  certain 
charm  for  congenial  minds ;  but  its  excellences,  such  as  they  are, 
are  balanced  by  many  defects.  It  is  tedious,  overlaid  with  pedantry 
to  a  wearisome  extent,  and  utterly  without  Chaucer's  humor,  pas- 
sion, and  love  of  nature.  The  author,  while  deploring  the  state 
of  society  in  his  time,  and  the  offences  of  men  in  high  place,  is 
yet  a  stout  supporter  of  the  old  order  of  things.  His  popularity 
with  the  cultivated  classes  continued  for  many  generations.  James 
of  Scotland,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  describes  him  and  Chaucer  as 

*  Superlative  as  poetis  laureate, 
In  moralitie  and  eloquence  ornate;  " 

and  Shakespeare,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  not  only  borrows  from 
him  the  materials  of  "  Pericles,"  but  also  brings  him  upon  tli< 
as  chorus  to  that  play. 

PROSE    LITERATURE    IN    THE    TIME    OF 
CHAUCER. 

The  most  meritorious  writer  of  English  prose  in  Chaucer's  time 
Was  Chancer  himself]   but   his  rare  powet  in  this  department  has 


PROSE     IN     THE     TIME     OF     CHAUCER.  61 

been  eclipsed  by  his  transcendent  genius  as  a  poet.  Of  those 
writers  whose  fame  depends  on  prose  works  alone,  the  chief  are 
Mandeville  and  Wycliffe. 

Sir  John  Mandeville  (1300-1372),  who  is  sometimes  erroneously 
called  the  father  of  English  prose,  published  his  well-known  volume 
)f  travels  in  1356.  Mr.  Hallam  calls  this  our  earliest  English  book. 
It  professes  to  be  an  authentic  account  of  what  the  author  saw  on 
his  travels  through  the  most  distant  countries  of  the  East,  and  was 
intended  to  be  a  guide  for  those  who  made  pilgrimages  to  Jerusa- 
lem. A  collection  of  marvelous  tales  which  he  has  recorded,  are 
worthy  only  of  being  classed  with  the  adventures  of  Baron  Mun- 
chausen. The  style,  however,  is  straightforward  and  unadorned, 
and  may  still  be  read  with  little  difficulty.  The  work  was  exceed- 
ingly popular  in  its  time,  for  it  gave  accounts  of  strange  peoples 
and  countries  about  which  Englishmen  had  never  heard. 

In  his  Prologue,  Mandeville  recognizes  the  confusion  of  the 
language  of  literature,  and  says  that  he  has  "  put  this  boke  out  of 
Latyn  into  Frensche,  and  translated  it  again  into  Englyssche,  that 
every  man  of  my  nation  may  understand  it." 

B.  1324.]  John  Wycliffe.    No  name  of  the  time  will  be  longer 

D.  1384.]  remembered  than  that  of  John  Wycliffe,  who  first 
gave  a  complete  copy  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  English 
people  in  the  English  tongue.  This  remarkable  man,  of  almost 
equally  great  importance  in  the  literary  and  in  the  political  history 
of  his  nation,  studied  at  Oxford,  and  rose  to  considerable  academi- 
cal and  ecclesiastical  preferments.  His  life  was  marked  by  many 
vicissitudes.  After  having  been  alternately  supported  and  aban- 
doned by  men  of  great  influence,  he  closed  his  life  peacefully  at  his 
Lutterworth  parsonage.  It  was  here,  after  his  enemies  had  driven 
him  from  his  chair  at  Oxford,  that  he  commenced  his  great  trans- 
lation, which  is  said  to  have  been  finished  about  the  year  1380.* 
The  influence  exerted  by  this  work  upon  our  language  cannot  be 
overrated.  Translated,  as  it  was,  from  the  Latin  Vulgate,  it  makes 
the  Latin  the  principal  source  of  our  theological  vocabulary. 

*  A  priest  named  Hereford  assisted  Wycliffe,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
translator  of  the  work  as  far  as  Baruch,  in  the  Apocrypha.  The  remainder  of  the 
work  is  attributed  to  Wycliffe. 


62  PE08E     IN     THE     TIME     OF     CHAUCER. 

Wycliffe  was  the  first  eminent  scholar  who  used  the  English 
tongue  in  attacking  the  ecclesiastical  system.  He  was  the  fore- 
runner of  the  Reformation.  His  sermons  and  polemical  writings 
must  be  studied  by  those  who  would  form  a  just  notion  of  the 
highest  intellectual  power  exerted  at  that  time. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  s- 

The  contemporaries  of  Chaucer : 
J.  Langlande  and  his  vision, 
2*  John  Goiver. 

3.  Sir  John  Mandeville* 

4.  John  Wycliffe. 


CHAPTEH  ¥J. 

FROM    CHAUCER   TO   SPENSER. 

TT1HE  first  great  manifestation  of  English  intellectual  powel 
1  terminated  with  the  death  of  Chaucer.  A  period  of  decay 
followed,  in  which  there  was  no  display  of  literary  genius.  For 
more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  not  a  man  of  eminent  intellect 
appeared.  But  the  invention  of  printing  and  the  revival  of  learn- 
ing remind  us  that,  though  singularly  deficient  in  great  men,  the 
time  was  by  no  means  barren  in  results.  The  spiritual  activities  of 
the  nation  were  gathering  themselves  for  another  marvelous  out- 
burst. 

Three  disciples  of  Chaucer,  Occleve,  Lydgate,  and  James  I. 
of  Scotland,  have  made  their  names  worthy  of  mention  as  writers 
of  verse  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

In  the  finest  passage  of  his  best  attempt  at  poetical  composition, 
Occleve  bewails  the  death  of  his  master,  Chaucer,*  and,  but  for  the 
simple  earnestness  of  that  lament,  there  would  be  nothing  in  his 
literary  work  to  command  our  esteem. 

"R  1  ^7ft  21  John  Lydgate's  writings  were  in  high  repute  in  his 

own  century.  He  furnished  poetical  compositions  for 
D.  l£oU  .J  entertainments  given  by  companies  of  merchants  for 
May-day  and  Christmas  festivals,  for  the  pageants  provided  by  the 
corporation  of  the  City  of  London,  and  for  the  masks  before  the 

*  "  But  wel  away  !  so  is  mine  herte"  wo 

That  the  honor  of  English  tongue  is  dede, 
Of  which  I  wont  was  have  counsel  and  rede  1 

O  mayster  dere  and  fadir  reverent, 

My  mayster  Chaucer,  floure  of  eloquence, 

Mirrour  of  fructuous  endendement, 

O  universal  fadir  in  science, 

Alas  that  thou  thine  excellent  prudence 

In  thy  hed  mortel  mighteste  not  hequethe  ! 

What  eyled  Death  ?    Alas  1  why  would  he  sle  t«*> 


64  JAMES     I.     OF     SCOTLAND. 

king.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-one  of  these  productions  attributed 
to  the  prolific  versifier,  indicate  in  what  esteem  he  was  held  by  his 
own  generation.  For  nearly  fifty  years  this  monk  was  the  most 
popular  English  poet.  His  best  known  productions  are  the  Story 
of  Thebes,  the  Destruction  of  Troy,  and  the  Fall  of  Princes.  The 
first,  a  translation  from  Statius,  a  Latin  poet  of  the  first  century,  is 
given  as  an  additional  Canterbury  Tale,  told  by  Lydgate,  who 
represents  himself  as  having  met  Chaucer's  pilgrims  at  an  inn  in 
Canterbury,  and  as  having  been  allowed  to  return  to  London  in 
their  company.  The  Fall  of  Princes  is  a  translation  from  Boccaccio, 
and  contains  the  famous  reference  to  his  k>  maister  Chaucer,"  "  the 
lode-sterre  of  our  language."  The  Destruction  of  Troy,  a  transla- 
tion from  a  Latin  prose  romance,  is  a  poem  of  interest,  as  it  por- 
trays many  features  of  the  social  life  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

But  the  most  brilliant  poet  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  James  L 
(1394-1436)  of  Scotland.  In  1405,  when  but  eleven  years  old,  he 
was  captured  on  his  way  from  Scotland  to  France,  and  was  taken 
to  the  English  court.  Henry  IV.  and  his  successors  detained  him 
as  a  prisoner  for  nineteen  years.  Happy  results  for  himself  and 
for  his  nation  followed  from  this  captivity.  Adversity  developed 
those  sterling  qualities  of  character  which  made  him  the  most 
eminent  king  of  the  Stuart  line;  and  the  loneliness  of  his 
earlier  years  prompted  him  to  seek  and  gain  that  literary  culture 
which  has  made  his  name  famous  in  the  world  of  letters.  In  the 
last  year  of  his  imprisonment  he  wrote  his  best  work,  the  King's 
Quair  (a  quire,  or  book)  (18),  a  poetical  record  of  incidents  in  his 
life,  and  especially  of  his  winning  his  queen,  Jane  Beaufort,  grand- 
daughter of  John  of  Gaunt.  From  the  window  of  his  prison  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of 

"  The  fairest  or  the  f reediest  young  floure," 

as  she  walked  with  her  attendants  "  under  the  Toure.''  The  poem 
contains  nearly  fourteen  hundred  lines,  describing  his  hope3  and 
despairs,  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  beautiful  vision  of  peerless 
loveliness,  and  the  happy  ending  of  his  courtship.  No  poem  of 
?qual  merit  was  produced  in  the  long  interval  between  Chaucer 
ind  Spenser.  It  is  distinguished  by  tenderness  of  expression,  and 
by  a  manly  delicacy  of  feeling.  This  poets  adoption  of  the 
Chaucerian  stanza  has  given  to  that  stanza  the  name  of  rhyme  royal, 


WILLIAM     CAXTOH.  65 

Besides  these  three,  not  a  respectable  versifier  appeared  in  Eng- 
land during  the  fifteenth  century;  and  these  three  are  professed 
disciples  of  Chaucer.  His  influence  over  them  is  shown  in  the 
very  stanza  in  which  they  wrote. 

William  Caxton.  To  William  Caxton  (1412-1491),  England 
owes  her  early  participation  in  the  benefits  arising  from  the  art 
of  printing — the  greatest  invention  of  modern  times.  This  inven- 
tion, which  was  nothing  more  than  the  use  of  movable  types  in 
place  of  the  old  engraved  wooden  blocks,  is  now  generally  be- 
lieved to  have  been  made  by  John  Gutenburg,  of  Mentz.  He 
conceived  the  plan  about  1438,  but  on  account  of  poverty  was 
unable  to  put  it  into  execution  until  twelve  years  afterwards,  when 
he  met  with  John  Fust,  a  wealthy  merchant,  by  whose  assistance 
he  brought  out  in  1455  the  first  printed  book,  the  Latin  Bible  long 
known  as  the  Mazarin.  The  art  was  introduced  into  England  by 
Caxton.  His  printing-press  was  set  up  at  Westminster, 
1474.]  and  its  first  work,  the  Game  of  the  Chesse,  appeared  in  1474. 
From  that  time  until  his  death  in  1491,  Caxton  labored 
assiduously  at  his  vocation,  giving  to  the  world  sixty-four  books. 
The  majority  of  his  publications  were  in  English,  consisting  partly 
of  translations  and  partly  of  original  works.  Many  of  these  trans- 
lations are  from  the  printer's  own  pen.  To  other  books  he  added 
prefaces  of  his  own  composition,  so  that  he  is  fairly  entitled  to  a 
place,  though  not  a  very  high  one,  among  English  authors  (26). 

The  Paston  Letteks,  the  earliest  collection  of  the  kind  in  the 
language,  form  a  regular  series,  extending  from  1424  until  1509,  and 
are  so  numerous  that  they  filled  five  volumes  on  their  first  publica- 
tion. By  far  the  greatest  number  are  written  either  by  or  to  mem- 
bers of  the  Paston  family.  The  collection  is  of  great  historical 
importance,  not  only  from  the  light  it  throws  upon  some  of  the 
dark  passages  of  English  history,  but  also  from  the  valuable  illus- 
trations it  supplies  of  the  domestic  manners  and  modes  of  thought 
and  action  that  prevailed  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  inner  life 
of  the  period  is  laid  open  before  us ;  its  character  and  spirit  are 
revealed  to  us  through  the  very  thoughts  and  words  of  men  then 
living. 

The  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  marked  by  some 


66  JOHN     SKELTON. 

improvements  in  our  literature,  although  it  produced  no  poet  of 
special  merit.  The  Pastime  of  Pleasure,  by  Stephen  Hawes,  a 
favorite  of  Henry  VII.,  is  a  dull  allegorical  poem  ;  and  Alexander 
Barclay's  Ship  of  Fools  is  merely  a  translation  of  the  once  cele- 
brated satire  of  Sebastian  Brandt.  These  works,  though  of  little 
value  in  themselves,  attest  the  marked  progress  that  versification 
was  making  towards  grace  and  harmony ;  and  in  this  respect  they 
indicate  an  approach  to  the  manner  of  Spenser  and  Shakespeare. 

John  Skelton  (1460-1529)  was  the  most  prolific  versifier  of 
this  period.  He  represents  the  spirit  of  revolt  then  prevalent 
against  ecclesiastical  arrogance  and  authority.  (21)  Skelton  was 
himself  a  member  of  the  clerical  profession.  We  have  the  testi- 
mony of  Erasmus,  then  a  resident  in  England,  to  his  eminence  as  a 
scholar  and  man  of  letters.  His  bitter  tongue,  however,  is  said  to 
have  drawn  down  upon  him  the  wrath  of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  from 
which  he  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  Sanctuary  at  West- 
minster, where  he  died  in  1529.  His  Latin  poems  evince  much 
classical  elegance.  His  serious  efforts  in  English  are  exceedingly 
heavy  and  tedious ;  but  his  satiric  writings,  coarse  and  nilgai  as 
they  are,  show  so  much  force  and  spirit  that  they  still  retain  some 
degree  of  popularity.  The  peculiar  doggerel  measure  in  which 
his  satiric  works  are  composed,  and  his  use  of  the  familiar  speech 
of  the  people,  have  attracted  to  him  a  degree  of  attention  to  which 
his  intrinsic  merits  by  no  means  entitle  him.  He  has  perfectly 
described  and  exemplified  the  character  of  his  "breatheless 
rhymes  "  in  the  following  passage  : — 

"  For  though  my  rime  be  ragged, 
Tattered  and  jailed, 
Rudely  raine  beaten, 
Rusty  and  moth-eaten, 
If  ye  take  wel  therewith, 
It  hath  in  it  pooM  pith." 

Jlis  principal  attacks  upon  Wolsey  are  found  in  the  Beckt  /  Oolin 
Ohut)   Why  come  ye  not  to  Count  and  the   Bmiffi   qf  Court  (/.  «., 

Bouche  d  Court,  diet  allowed  at  court).  Notwithstanding  the 
admiration  that  is  often  expressed  for  this  writer,  his  satirical 
compositions  hardly  rise  above  the  dignity  of   lampoons.     "His 


WYATT     AND     SURREY.  67 

learning,"  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Marsh,  "  certainly  did  little  for  the 
improvement  of  his  English  style  ;  and  we  may  say  of  his  diction 
in  general,  that  all  that  is  not  vulgar  is  pedantic."  Throughout 
his  writings  he  seems  to  delight  in  alluding  to  the  laurel,  or  degree 
in  verse,  conferred  upon  him  at  Oxford. 

The  Early  Scotch  Poets.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth 
and  the  first  years  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Blind  Harry,  Robert 
Henryson,  Gawin  Douglas,  and  William  Dunbar*  flourished. 
It  is  to  Scotland  and  to  these  men  that  we  look  for  the  best  English 
poetry  during  the  time  when  the  poets  of  England  were  in  a  state 
of  torpor.  They  were  the  successors  of  James  I.  of  Scotland,  and 
the  only  men  in  the  two  generations  before  Surrey,  whose  song  is 
worthy  of  mention. 

Poetry  in  the  first  half  of  the  Sixteenth  Century.  The  poems 
of  Wyatt  and  Surrey,  though  inferior  to  Skelton's  works  in  force 
and  vivacity,  are  superior  in  grace  and  elegance.  They  give  the 
earliest  indications  of  the  dawn  of  the  brightest  day  that  English 
literature  has  seen.  Although  unequal  in  merit,  they  possess  so 
much  in  common,  and  there  is  such  marked  similarity  in  their 
manner,  that  their  names  are  closely  associated.!  The  higher  place 
is  invariably  assigned  to  the  younger,  Henry  Howard,  Earl  of 
Surrey  (1517-1547),  whose  early,  unmerited  death  on  the  scaffold, 
has  deepened  the  romantic  interest  that  surrounds  his  name  (23, 
24).  His  contributions  to  poetry  are  not  very  extensive,  but  are 
of  considerable  importance,  as  well  from  their  excellence  as  from  the 
new  metrical  form  and  style  in  which  many  of  them  are  written. 

*  Mr.  Craik  says  that "  this  admirable  master,  alike  of  serious  and  of  comic  song, 
may  justly  be  styled  the  Chaucer  of  Scotland,  whether  we  look  to  the  wide  range 
of  his  genius,  or  to  his  eminence  in  every  style  over  all  the  poets  of  his  country 
who  preceded  aud  all  who  for  ages  came  after  him.  Burns  is  certainly  the  only 
name  among  the  Scottish  poets  that  can  yet  be  placed  on  the  same  line  with  that 
of  Dunbar ;  and  even  the  inspired  ploughman,  though  the  equal  of  Dunbar  in 
comic  power,  and  his  superior  in  depth  of  passion,  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
older  poet  either  in  strength  or  in  general  fertility  of  imagination." 

t  "  Henry,  Earl  of  Surrey,  and  Sir  Thomas  Wyat,  between  whom  I  flnde  very 
little  difference,  I  repute  them  for  the  two  chief  lanternes  of  light  to  all  others  that 
have  since  employed  their  pennes  upon  English  Poesie  ;  their  conceits  were  loftie, 
their  stiles  stately,  their  conveyance  cleanly,  their  termes  proper,  their  metres 
eweete  and  well  proportioned."— Puttenham,  1589. 


68  WY  ATT     AND     SURREY. 

To  Surrey  we  owe  two  great  literary  innovations — the  intro- 
duction of  the  sonnet,  and  the  use  of  polished  blank  verse— 
and  he  was  the  first  to  write  in  that  involved  style,  which  so 
strikingly  distinguishes  the  language  of  Shakespeare  from  that 
of  Chaucer.  A  version  of  the  second  and  fourth  books  of  the 
iEneid,  in  what  Milton  called  "English  heroic  verse  without 
rhyme,"  numerous  sonnets  on  many  subjects,  chiefly  amatory; 
a  satire  on  the  citizens  of  London,  together  with  paraphrases  of 
Ecclesiastes  and  some  of  the  Psalms,  constitute  the  main  portion 
of  his  writings.  The  fanciful  theories  of  some  later  editors  have 
attached  an  undue  significance  to  his  connection  with  "the  fair 
Geraldine,"  in  whose  honor  many  of  his  best  sonnets  were  written, 
Sir  Thomas  Wyatt  (1503-1542),  though  fourteen  years  older  than 
his  friend,  is  generally  regarded  as  his  poetical  disciple ;  but  he  is 
undoubtedly  a  poet  of  a  much  lower  type  (22).  He,  too,  com- 
posed many  songs  and  sonnets  on  the  one  inexhaustible  topic  — 
love.  His  satires  and  his  metrical  versions  of  the  Penitential 
Psalms  supply  an  additional  point  of  resemblance  between  himself 
and  Surrey.  In  both,  the  highly  beneficent  influences  of  an  ac- 
quaintance with  Italian  literature  are  manifest;  influences  which 
affected  the  entire  structure  and  spirit  of  English  poetry  for  more 
than  a  century,  imparting  to  it  a  smoothness  and  melody  unknown 
before,  without  impairing  in  the  slightest  degree  its  native  strength 
and  manliness  of  tone.  Their  collected  works  were  first  published 
ten  years  after  Surrey's  death. 

English  Ballads.  The  stirring  English  ballads  belong  to  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Their  language  is  simple,  their 
verse  rude,  their  thoughts  rugged ;  they  are  full  of  sympathy  for 
the  outlaw,  yet  they  have  a  charm  for  those  who  delight  in  the 
expressions  of  simple-hearted  human  nature.  They  wore  com posed, 
nearly  all  of  them,  in  this  comparatively  barren  period  of  English 
literature,  between  the  time  of  Chaucer  and  the  time  of  Spenser. 
Anarchy  in  the  state,  tyranny,  ami  the  constant  warfare  waged 
along  the  Scottish  Border,  were  among  the  causes  which  stirred  the 
rude  poets  to  a  recital  of  their  loves  and  hatreds.  Tradition 
saved  these  compositions  tor  us.  They  were  not  gathered  into  a 
volume  until  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when 
Bishop  Percy  brought  them  together,  thinking  that  they  might  fur- 


OLD     ENGLISH     BALLADS.  69 

msh  material  for  missing  chapters  in  the  history  of  our  language. 
As  we  read  his  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry,  the  old  minstrels 
place  us  under  a  spell,  and,  for  the  time,  make  us  forgetful  of 
the  fascination  of  the  modern  poets.  We  are  transported  back  to 
the  days  of  rude  life  in  England.  We  sup,  and  watch,  and  fight, 
and  love  with  the  brave,  lawless  yeomen.  Strive  as  they  may,  our 
poets  of  a  nobler  civilization  cannot  produce  companion-pieces  to 
the  Ancient  Ballad  of  Chevy  Chase,  or  to  Adam  Bell,  Clym  of  the 
dough,  and  William  of  CloudesUy.  "Young  Lochinvar"  and 
"Sheridan's  Ride''  are  spirited,  but  they  do  not  approach  the 
old  ballads  in  graphic  terseness,  in  poetic  simplicity,  in  fiery  fervor, 
in  tenderness  of  pathos.  The  reproduction  of  such  poetry  is  pre- 
vented by  the  civilization  of  this  age.  Law,  not  lawlessness,  is 
honored  now.  Personal  prowess,  reckless  daring,  are  dangerous 
to  society  in  this  day ;  they  gave  protection  to  little  bands  in  the 
English  wood;  they  received  the  grateful  applause  of  men  who 
lived  amid  the  perils  of  the  Scottish  Border.  It  was  the  hardi- 
hood of  this  age  that  produced  the  old  ballads.  Many  of  them 
appear  in  two  forms:  the  early  genuine  verses  in  their  original 
rudeness,  and  a  later  edition,  in  which  some  versifier  has  endeavored 
to  smooth  and  polish  their  crudities.  These  attempts  at  improve- 
ment invariably  dissipate  the  energy  of  the  original.  To  appre- 
ciate the  spirit  of  these  poems,  they  should  be  read  in  the  earlier 
forms.  For  example,  the  familiar  Ballad  of  Chevy  Chase  is  an 
attempt  at  improving  an  old  ballad;  yet  the  old  song  (32)  is 
superior  in  vigor,  in  vivacity,  and  is  far  more  inspiring  to  the 
fancy.     A  few  stanzas  may  illustrate  its  energy  : 

"  The  Perse  ovvt*  of  Northombarlande,t 
And  a  vowe  to  God  mayd  he, 
That  he  wolde  hunte  in  the  mountayns 
Off  chyviat  within)  dayes  thre, 
In  the  mauger§  of  doughti  Doglas, 
And  all  that  ever  with  him  be. 

"  The  fattiste  hartes  in  all  cheviat 

He  sayd  he  wold  kill  and  cary  them  away ; 
'  Be  my  feth,'  sayd  the  doughti  Doglas  agayn, 

I  wyll  let  ||  that  hontyng  yf  that  I  may.' 

*  Came  out.  t  The  land  north  of  the  Humber.  %  During. 

|  In  spite  of.  II  Hinder. 


70  SIR     THOMAS    MORE. 

44  Then  the  Persd  owt  of  Banborowe  cam. 

With  him  a  myghtye  meany,* 

With  fifteen  hundrith  arch  arcs  hold  ; 

The  wear  chosen  out  of  shyars  t  thre." 

There  follows  a  description  of  the  foray,  beginning  on  a  Monday 
morning,  of  the  scattering  of  the  huntsmen,  of  the  gathering  and 
dressing  of  the  deer,  of  the  alert  watchers,  of  the  oncoming  of 
Douglas  and  his  men,  of  the  brave  parley  before  the  fight,  of  the 
onset,  of  the  bloody  death  of  the  two  leaders,  and  of  the  unyielding 
struggle  until  the  sun  went  down  with  the  battle  not  yet  over. 
The  woe  of  bereaved  women  is  touchingly  depicted  ;  and  then  the 
poem  closes  as  boldly  and  as  bluntly  as  it  began.  It  was  of  this 
ballad  that  Sir  Philip  Sidney  said,  "  I  never  heard  the  old  song  of 
Percy  and  Douglas,  that  I  found  not  my  heart  more  moved  than 
with  a  trumpet." 

The  minstrelsy  of  the  border  counties  has  greater  energy  than 
that  of  the  southern  provinces  of  England. 

B.  1480.]  Prose-writers  in  the  first  half  of  the  Sixteenth 
D.  1535. J    Century.     Sir   Thomas   More    stands    pre-eminent 

among  the  English  prose-writers  of  his  time.  He  was 
a  man  of  profound  scholarship,  of  earnest  piety,  and  of  irrepressible 
good-humor.  When  he  was  yet  in  his  youth  it  was  said  of  him, 
M  There  is  but  one  wit  in  England,  and  that  is  young  Thomas 
More."  The  progressive  scholars  of  the  day  applauded  him  when 
he  appeared,  against  desperate  opposition,  as  a  champion  for 
the  introduction  of  the  study  of  Greek  into  the  universities  of 
England.  The  eminent  Erasmus  was  his  devoted  and  admiring 
friend.  He  gained  one  position  after  another  as  a  servant  of  the 
state,  until  he  reached  the  bench  of  the  Lord  Chancellor.  P>ui 
when  he  ventured  to  thwart  the  purposes  of  Henry  VIII.  by  refusing 
to  acknowledge  the  validity  of  that  monarch's  marriage  so  Anno 
Boleyn,  neither  the  eminence  of  his  position  nor  his  former  intimacy 
with  the  king  could  save  him  from  a  cruel  death.  Disaster  did  not 
disturb   his    serene   good-humor.J      Disgrace,    imprisonment,    ami 

•  A  strong  company.  t  Shires. 

X  "  On  the  eve  i»f  the  fajal  blow  he  moved  his  beard  carefully  from  the  block. 
'Pity  that  should  be  CUt,1  lie  was  heard  to  mutter  with  I  touch  of  the  old,  sad 
irony, '  that  has  never  committed  treason.'  " 


SIE    THOMAS     MORE.  71 

threatening  danger  were  brightened  by  bis  genial  wit ;  and  even  aa 
he  climbed  the  scaffold  to  bow  beneath  the  headsman's  axe,  he 
gayly  said,  "  I  pray  you  see  me  safe  up  ;  and  for  my  coming  down 
let  me  shift  for  myself." 

Sir  Thomas  More's  fame  as  a  writer  rests  upon  two  works.  The 
one  most  remarkable,  on  account  of  its  literary  style,  is  his  Life  of 
Edward  F.,  a  work  pronounced  by  Mr.  Hallam  u  the  first  example 
of  good  English  language — pure  and  perspicuous,  well  chosen, 
without  vulgarisms  or  pedantry."  But  his  best  known  work,  the 
Utopia,  written  in  Latin,  is  known  to  most  modern  readers  through 
Burnet's  translation.  The  work  is  full  of  fancy  and  invention.  It 
is  a  romantic  description  of  the  ideal  state  of  a  republic  on  an 
island,  where  the  laws  and  social  and  political  usages  are  in  strict 
accordance  with  philosophical  perfection.  Many  of  its  suggestions 
are  far  in  advance  of*  the  author's  time.  Every  house  has  its  spacious 
garden;  every  citizen  understands  agriculture,  and  is  expert  at 
some  trade ;  six  hours  of  work,  no  more  no  less,  is  allowed. 
There  are  no  taverns  in  that  happy  land ;  and  change  of  fashion, 
frivolity,  cruelty,  and  wars  are  unknown.  Utopia,  the  name  of  the 
republic,  signifies  "  No  land  "  (ov  roTtog).  More's  other  works  are 
not  numerous.  They  are  controversial,  and  are  expressions  of  his 
ardent  attachment  to  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  Tradition 
assigns  him  a  place  among  the  most  eminent  of  English  orators. 

Lord  Berners's  translation  of  Froissart's  "  Chronicle,"  pub- 
lished in  1523,  should  be  mentioned  among  the  best  English  prose 
writings  of  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  development  of  historical  literature  is  by  successive 
stages.  Its  earliest  expression  in  the  ancient  as  well  as  in  the 
modern  world,  is  legendary,  and  its  form  is  poetical.  The  legends 
are  succeeded  by  chronicles,  and  after  ages  of  civilization  the 
chronicles  furnish  the  historian  with  the  rude  materials  for  his 
work.  Thus,  in  the  development  of  our  historical  literature,  we 
have  fabulous  British  legends,  the  chronicles  of  the  monk  and  the 
trouvere,  the  systematically  compiled  narrative,  and  the  philosophi- 
cal treatise  of  the  modern  historian.  In  the  pages  of  Robert 
Fabyan  and  of  Edward  Hall  we  find  the  first  attempts  made  by 
English  writers  at  a  studied  literary  discussion  of  past  events. 
Fabyan,  an  alderman  and  sheriff  of  London,  gathers  the  mythical, 


72  WILLIAM     TYNDALE. 

semi-mythical,  and  authentic  events  of  English  history,  and  re- 
duces them  to  a  regular  narrative,  called  the  Concordance  of  Historyes. 
Hall,  a  judge  in  the  same  city,  under  the  title  of  the  Union  of  the 
Two  Noble  and.  Illustrate  Families  of  York  and  Lancastre,  gives  a 
history  of  England  under  these  two  royal  families,  and  down  to 
the  year  1532.  These  writings,  though  totally  devoid  of  any  pre- 
tensions to  history  in  the  genuine  sense  of  the  word,  are  valuable, 
not  only  as  storehouses  of  facts  for  modern  narrators,  but  also  as 
monuments  of  the  language,  and  as  examples  of  the  popular  sym- 
pathies of  the  time. 

The  Toxophilus  of  Roger  Ascham  (1515-1568),  published  in 
1545,  was  written  to  revive  decaying  interest  in  the  use  of  the  bow, 
and  is  distinguished  by  quiet  dignity  of  style  and  manliness  of 
spirit.  It  is  composed  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  Philo- 
logus  and  Toxophilus.  Eighteen  years  afterwards,  when  tutor 
to  Queen  Elizabeth,  this  same  author  brought  out  his  more  im- 
portant work,  The  Schoolmaster,  which  is  still  valuable  for  the 
principles  and  rules  of  teaching  therein  expounded.  For  a  learned 
man  to  write  a  scholarly  book  in  the  English  language,  at  the  mid- 
dle of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  a  startling  innovation,  and  there- 
fore Ascham  presents  the  following  apology  in  the  preface  of  his 
work : — 

"  As  for  the  Latin  or  Greek  tongue,  everything  is  so  excellently 
done  in  them  that  none  can  do  better;  in  the  English  tongue,  con- 
trary, everything  in  a  manner  so  meanly,  both  for  the  matter  and 
handling,    that    no    man   can    do  worse He  that  will 

write  well  in  any  tongue  must  follow  the  counsel  of  Aristotle,  to 
Speak  as  the  common  people  do,  to  think  as  wise  men  do,  as  SO 
should  every  man  understand  him,  and  the  judgment  of  wise  men 
allow  him." 

Tyndale's  Version  of  the  Scriptures.    More  than  a  century 

had  passed  since  Wycliffe  made  his  translation  of  the  Bible. 
Meanwhile  the  language  had  so  changed  that  WyelihVs  version 
was  intelligible  to  bul  few  BngliA  readers.  There  was  great  de- 
mand   for   a    printed    Bible.      Englishmen  wished  to  read  the  book 

for  themselves.  The  nation  was  agitated  upon  reli- 
B.  1477?1  gioUB  subjects,  and  was  on  the  verge  of  the  Heforma- 
D.    1536.]     tion.     William    Tyndale,    burning  with    the   desire   feo 

put  the  Word  of  CJod  within  the  reach  of  the  hum- 


WILLIAM    tYNDALE.  73 

blest  of  his  countrymen,  set  himself  to  the  work  of  translating  the 
New  Testament  from  the  Greek.  After  many  discouragements  his 
work  was  accomplished,  and  the  first  edition  was  printed  at 
Cologne  and  Worms  in  1525.  Its  publication  was  hailed  with 
delight.  Threats  and  severe  penalties  could  not  prevent  men  from 
selling  and  buying  it.  The  King  of  England  frowned,  the  Church 
pronounced  its  curses;  but  all  in  vain,  for  the  people  were  deter- 
mined to  possess  the  book.  Knowing  that  persecution  and  death 
would  stop  his  working,  should  he  return  to  his  own  country, 
Tyndale  remained  on  the  Continent.  He  was  diligently  translating 
the  Old  Testament.  The  Five  Boohs  of  Moses  and  An  English 
Version  of  the  Book  of  Job  were  completed  by  him.  At  last  he  was 
treacherously  delivered  to  officers  who  were  searching  for  him, 
and,  after  eighteen  months  of  imprisonment,  he  was  tried  at  the 
Castle  of  Vilvoord,  near  Brussels,  was  convicted  of  heresy,  was 
strangled  and  burned  at  the  stake.  In  the  agony  of  dying  he  gave 
expression  to  the  faith  which  had  prompted  his  earnest  efforts,  as 
he  prayed,  "O  Lord,  open  the  King  of  England's  eyes  1"  All 
critics  accord  praise  to  the  literary  excellence  of  Tyndale's  work. 
His  language  is  pure  and  simple.  His  style  is  energetic.  He  has 
done  more  than  any  other  to  establish  our  idioms  and  our  diction. 
All  English  translators  of  the  Bible  since  his  day  have  imitated 
him  closely.  In  his  Lectures  on  the  English  Language,  Professor 
Marsh  says, — 

"  Tyndale's  translation  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  most  im- 
portant philological  monument  of  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  perhaps  I  should  say  of  the  whole  period  between  Chaucer 
and  Shakespeare,  both  as  a  historical  relic,  and  as  having  more 
than  anything  eise  contributed  to  shape  and  fix  the  sacred  dialect, 
and  establish  the  form  which  the  Bible  must  permanently  assume 
in  an  English  dress." 

1535.]        Miles  Coverdale,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  has  the  glory  of 
publishing   the   first  printed   copy  of  the  whole  Bible.     It 
lacks  the  simplicity  and  energy  of  Tyndale's  version. 

By  this  time  the  popular  demand  for  the  Scriptures,  and  the 
impossibility  of  suppressing  their  publication,  forced  Henry  VIII. 
to  name  an  authorized  version.  It*  appeared  in  1537,  bearing 
the  fictitious  name  of  Thomas  Matthews  as  its  translator.  John 
Rogers,   the   "proto-martyr,"    who  had    been   a  co-worker   with 


74  WILLIAM    TYKDALE. 

JTyndale,  was  the  real  translator.  In  1539,  "  The  Great  Bible " 
vas  issued,  intended  for  use  in  the  churches ;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing v<  ar,  without  alteration,  save  that  of  a  preface  by  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  it  appeared  as  the  only  authorized  Scriptures  of  the 
English  Church.  From  "  Cranmer's  Bible  "  were  taken  the  passages 
of  Scripture  used  in  the  English  Prayer-Book. 

King  James's  Version  of  the  Scriptures.  The  common  Eng- 
lish version  of  the  Scriptures,  the  most  remarkable  of  Bible  transla- 
tions, was  made  by  a  company  of  forty-seven  scholars  who  did  tlnir 
work  at  the  request  of  King  James  I.  The  version  was  published 
in  1611. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

1.  The  Period  from  Chaucer  to  Spenser* 

2.  William   Ca.rton  and  John  She/ton. 

3.  The  Early  Scotch  Poets. 

4.  Poetry  in  the  first  half  of  the  Sixteenth  Centura. 

5.  English  Hal  I  ads. 

6*.  Prose-writers   in  the  first  half  of  the  Sixteenth 
Centura — Sir  Thomas  More. 

7.  The  Development  of  Historical  Literature* 

8.  Tijnduh's  Version  of  the  Scriptures* 

9.  Miles  Co  re  ra 'a  le. 

10.  King  James's  Version  of  the  Scriptures. 


CHAPTHH  VII. 

THE   NON-DRAMATIC    ELIZABETHAN    POETS. 

"rpHE  ELIZABETHAN  AGE  "is  marked  by  features  which 
I ,  give  it  peculiar  distinction  in  the  history  of  the  literary 
world.  The  language  had  just  reached  its  thorough  development. 
Thought  was  rejoicing  in  a  recent  and  sudden  emancipation.  The 
writers  were  men  of  originality  and  of  high  intellectual  culture, 
who  found  the  ancient  and  foreign  literatures  filled  with  materials 
and  imagery  which  had  not  yet  had  time  to  become  commonplace 
for  English  readers.  They  united  freshness  and  dignity  in  their 
poetry  and  in  their  prose.  The  art  of  printing,  just  made  available, 
enabled  them  to  address  the  people.  The  literary  activity  begun 
in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  was  carried  on  through  the  reign  of 
James  I. 

But  the  progress  of  this  age  was  not  in  literature  alone.  There 
was  an  awakening  of  the  people  to  general  social  improvement. 
Life  was  recognized  as  worth  enjoying,  and  its  enjoyment  was 
found  in  a  new  way  of  living.     Comforts  were  invented  and  used.* 

*  Holinshed,  writing  at  the  beginning  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  says:  ■*  There  are 
old  men  yet  dwelling  in  the  village  where  I  remain  which  have  noted  three  things 
to  be  marvellously  altered  in  England  within  their  sound  remembrance.  One  is  the 
multitudes  of  chimneys  lately  erected  ;  whereas  in  their  young  days,  there  were 
not  above  two  or  three,  if  so  many,  in  the  most  uplandish  towns  of  the  realm  (the 
religious  houses  and  manor  places  of  their  lords  always  excepted,  and  peradventure 
some  great  personage)  ;  but  each  made  his  fire  against  a  reredosse  in  the  hall, 
where  he  dined  and  dressed  his  meat.  The  second  is  the  great  amendment  of 
lodging ;  for  said  they, '  our  fathers  and  we  ourselves  have  lain  full  oft  upon  straw 
pallets,  covered  only  with  a  sheet,  under  coverlets  made  of  dogswaine,  and  a  good 
round  log  under  their  heads  instead  of  a  bolster.'  ....  As  for  servants,  if 
they  had  any  sheet  above  them  it  was  well,  for  seldom  had  they  any  under  their 
bodies  to  keep  them  from  the  pricking  straws  that  ran  oft  through  the  canvass  and 
rased  their  hardened  hides.  The  third  thing  they  tell  us  of  is  the  exchange  of 
treene  platters  (so  called,  I  suppose,  from  tree  or  wood)  into  pewter,  and  wooden 
spoons  into  silver  or  tin.  For  so  common  were  all  sorts  of  treene  vessels  in  old 
time,  that  a  man  should  hardly  find  four  pieces  of  pewter  (of  which  one  was  perad- 
venture a  salt)  in  a  good  farmer's  house." 


76  THOMAS     SACKVILLE. 

Houses  were  built  upon  improved  plans.  There  was  wonderful 
improvement  in  the  use  of  materials.  In  this  startling  age  the 
national  mind  was  interested  in  questions  of  state.  For  the  first 
time  the  average  Englishman  was  using  his  brain.  Society  was 
active,  thoughtful,  aspiring;  and  its  influence  upon  those  who  had 
genius  for  letters  was  stimulating.  The  writers  who  shine  in  the 
literary  splendor  of  the  Elizabethan  age  were  the  natural  product 
of  the  newly  awakened,  thoughtful  English  nation  of  that  day. 

The  first  name  that  gains  a  lasting  distinction  is  that  of  Thomas 
Sackville,  Lord  Buckhurst,  (1536-1608).  After  winning  much 
applause  for  his  share  in  the  composition  of  a  tragedy,  he  planned 
a  work  entitled  A  Mirror  for  Magistrates.  It  was  to  narrate  in 
verse  a  series  of  tragic  stories  drawn  from  the  history  of  England  ; 
and  these  stories  were  to  serve  as  lessons  of  virtue,  and  as  warnings 
to  future  kings  and  statesmen.  Other,  and  dreary  poets  carried 
out  the  details  of  Sackville's  ingenious  plan.  In  1559  the  first 
edition  of  the  work  appeared.  Other  editions  followed,  each  suc- 
ceeding one  containing  new  contributions  of  verse,  until  the  sixth 
edition,  published  in  1571,  was  of  enormous  bulk.  Although  the 
work  was  admired  in  its  own  day,  it  has  not  sufficient  poetical 
merit  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  modern  reader.  Sackville 
himself  wrote  the  Induction  (the  introduction)  and  the  Oowtpkrint 
of  Henry,  Duke  of  Buckingham;  and  by  these  parts  he  saved  the 
work  from  utter  stupidity.  These  poetic  passages  were  written  in 
his  early  life,  and  they  are  all  that  he  has  contributed  to  literature. 
They  till  but  a  small  place  on  the  printed  page,  vet  they  are  so  far 
superior  to  what  was  written  by  the  contemporaneous  poets  of  his 
early  life,  that  we  may  appropriately  style  him  herald  of  the  splen- 
dors of  the  Elizabethan  Literature.  After  his  early  manhood  all  his 
years  were  crowded  with  the  cares  of  state. 

Sir  Philip  Sidney  (1554-1586)  exerted  a  potent  influence  over 
the  spirit  of  his  age.  The  qualities  of  his  character  commanded 
the  loving  respect  of  all  men.  His  tastes  were  scholarly,  bifi  love 
for  virtue  was  intense,  he  was  magnanimous,  he  had  heroic  traits, 
and  after  living  nobly  he  died  a  hero.  His  definition  of  gentle- 
manliness — "  high  erected  thoughts  seated  in  a  heart  of  court 
might  he  pronounced  the  fitting  description  of  his  manliness,  hi 
his  own  time  and  until  the  present  day  he  has  been  regarded  as 
the  model  English  gentleman.     The  charm  of  his  lite  has  led  to  an 


SIR     PHILIP     SIDNEY.  77 

over-estimate  of  the  worth  of  his  writings.  His  contributions  to 
our  literature  consist  of  a  small  collection  of  sonnets  called 
Astrophel  and  Stella  (44) ;  a  prose  romance  entitled  The  Countes* 
of  Pembroke's  Arcadia;  and  A  Defence  of  Poesy  (55.)  The  sonnets 
have  a  languid  elegance.  The  Arcadia,  full  of  the  spirit  of  chiv- 
alry, though  it  would  be  tedious  to  the  devoted  reader  of  Scott  or 
Dickens,  was  popular  in  the  days  of  Shakespeare,  and  was  the  most 
charming  of  books  to  the  people  of  leisure  and  fashion  in  the  first 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Sidney's  Defence  of  Poesy  is  the 
work  on  which  his  fame  in  literature  now  rests.  It  is  an  attempt 
to  set  forth  the  worth  of  the  poet,  and  was  written  in  opposition 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  radical  Puritans  of  that  day,  who,  in  their 
fanatical  zeal,  denounced  whatever  contributed  to  a  taste  for  the 
beautiful. 


EDMUND     SPENSER. 

*'  Onr  sage  and  serious  Spenser.'1— Hilton. 

M  Milton  has  acknowledged  to  me  that  Spenser  was  his  original.'" — Dryden. 

"There  is  something  in  Spenser  that  pleases  one  as  strongly  in  one's  old  age  «u* 
it  did  in  one's  youth/1 — Pope. 

44  Do  you  love  Spenser  ?    I  love  him  in  my  heart  of  hearts." — Southey. 

44  The  poetry  of  Spenser  is  remarkable  for  brilliant  imagination,  fertile  invention, 
and  flowing  rhythm ;  yet  with  all  these  recommendations,  it  is  cold  and  tedious." 
—  Chateaubriand. 

"  Spenser  seems  to  me  a  most  genuine  poet,  and  to  be  justly  placed  after  Shake- 
ppeare  and  Milton,  and  above  all  other  English  poets.'1— Mackintosh. 

41  We  must  not  fear  to  assert,  with  the  best  judges  of  this  and  former  ages,  that 
Spenser  is  still  the  third  name  in  the  poetical  literature  of  our  country,  and  that  he 
has  not  been  surpassed,  except  by  Dante,  in  any  other.11— Hallam. 

,4  Among  the  numerous  poets  belonging  exclusively  to  Elizabeth's  reign,  Spenser 

stands  without  a  class  and  without  a  rival There  are  few  eminent  poets 

in  the  language  who  have  not  been  essentially  indebted  to  him.'1—  Campbell. 

"  One  unpardonable  fault,  the  fault  of  tediousness,  pervades  the  whole  of  the 
Faerie  Queene.  We  become  sick  of  cardinal  virtues  and  deadly  sins,  and  long  for 
the  society  of  plain  men  and  women.  Of  the  persons  who  read  the  first  canto,  not 
one  in  ten  reaches  the  end  of  the  first  book,  and  not  one  in  a  hundred  persevere* 
to  the  end  of  the  poem.'1— Macauiay. 


78  SPENSER. 

"  But  eome  people  will  pay  that  all  this  (the  Faerie  Queene)  may  he  very  fine,  hut 
they  cannot  understand  it  on  account  of  the  allegory.  They  are  afraid  of  the  alle- 
gory, as  if  they  thought  it  would  bite  them  ;  they  look  at  it  as  a  child  looks  at  a 
dragon,  and  think  it  will  strangle  them  in  its  shining  folds.  This  is  very  idle.  If 
they  do  not  meddle  with  the  allegory,  the  allegory  will  not  meddle  with  them. 
Without  minding  it  at  all,  the  whole  is  as  plain  as  a  pike-6taff.'',— Hazlitl. 


T 


I  HE  pnly  non-dramatic  poet  of  the  Elizabethan  age  who 
J-  could  rank  by  the  side  of  the  best  poets  of  this  cen- 
tury was  the  illustrious  Edmund  Spenser.  After 
B.  1553.]  the  long  and  dreary  interval  of  nearly  two 
D.  1599.]  centuries,  he  appeared  as  the  worthy  successor 
to  Chaucer.  He  was  born  in  London  about  1553.  During 
his  youth  he  lived  in  humble  circumstances.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Cambridge.  After  acquiring 
much  genuine  culture  at  the  university,  he  began  his  bril- 
liant and  unhappy  career  as  a  man  of  letters.  Two  years 
were  spent  in  the  north  of  England,  where  he  wrote  the 
Shepherd's  Calendar,  finding  in  its  composition  some  solace 
for  his  grief  and  disappointment  as  a  lover.*  At  Cambridge 
he  had  formed  an  intimate  friendship  with  Gabriel  Harvey, 
a  man  of  learning  and  of  considerable  literary  reputation. 
This  friend  summoned  Spenser  from  the  north  of  England 
to  London,  and  introduced  him  to  Sir  Philip  Sidney.  Sid- 
ney welcomed  the  poet  to  his  house,  treated  him  with  the 
utmost  kindness,  and  cheered  him  on  in  his  literary  ambi- 
tion. At  Sidney's  mansion  Spenser  revised  his  Shepherd's 
Calendar,  and,  under  the  title  of  the  Poet's  Year,  dedicated 


*  "Early  in  Spenser's  life  he  had  worshipped  a  fair  "Rosalind,  whoso  faithless 
trifling  With  him  and  eventual  preference  of  a  rival  are  recorded  in  the  84 
Calendar.  E.  K.  (supposed  to  be  Edward  Eirke)  tell-  us  that  'the  name  Mug 
well  ordered  will  betray  the  very  name  of  Spenser's  love,'  whence  it  h  | 
Conjectured  that  she  was  a  lass  of  the  name  of  Rota  Lyiub.  .  .  .  lie  remained 
some  twelve  or  fourteen  years  without  thoughts  of  marriage.  But  in  the  J  ears 
16U  8  be  fell  in  with  an  Elisabeth  (her  surname  is  (oat),  toward-  whom  his  heart 
turned;  und  after  a  courtship  set  forth  in  his  Atnontti  or  lOUieta,  he  married  her 
in  10M.  His  wile  was  oT  lowly  Origin.  'She  was  eertes  bul  I  country  (mm,1  hut 
beautiful— '  so  sweet,  so  lovely,  and  so  mild  as  she.'  Her  eyes  were  '  sapphires 
blue,'  her  hair  of  •  rippling  gold.'  "—Clarendon  Prese  Series—The  Faery  Queene,  p.  8. 


SPENSER.  79 

it  to  "  Maister  Philip  Sidney,  worthy  of  all  titles,  both  of 
chivalry  and  poesy."  He  was  anxious  to  win  the  patronage 
of  some  great  person  who  would  enable  him  to  devote  his 
life  to  literary  pursuits.  In  our  day,  such  an  ambition 
would  be  considered  unmanly  and  servile ;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  before  Shakespeare  no  man  had  been 
able  to  earn  his  bread  by  literary  work.  Whoever  had 
love  for  letters,  if  he  were  a  poor  man,  must  either  quench 
that  love  or  secure  the  patronage  of  wealth.  Spenser's 
object  was  well-nigh  accomplished  when  Sidney  became  his 
friend.  Sidney  presented  him  to  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester, 
the  favorite  of  Elizabeth,  and  Dudley  brought  him  under 
the  notice  of  the  Queen.  To  her  Spenser  paid  his  literary 
homage,  gaining  her  applause,  and  receiving  an  appoint- 
ment in  Ireland  in  1580. 

His  residence  in  Ireland.  Six  years  afterwards,  a  grant 
of  about  three  thousand  acres  of  confiscated  lands,  not  far 
from  Cork,  was  given  to  him.  Kilcolman  Castle  was  his 
residence ;  and  there,  surrounded  by  the  charms  of  wonder- 
fully beautiful  scenery,  but  far  removed  from  the  society 
of  men  of  letters,  and  bitterly  hated  by  the  Irish  peasantry, 
he  composed  the  most  important  of  his  poetical  works.  In 
1591  a  pension  of  fifty  pounds  a  year  was  decreed  to  him  by 
the  Queen.  Occasional  visits  from  English  gentlemen  and 
infrequent  journeys  to  England  relieved  the  monotony  of 
his  secluded  life.  In  1598  Tyrone's  Eebellion  broke  out  in 
the  southern  part  of  Ireland.  English  residents  could 
look  for  no  mercy  from  the  insurgents.  Spenser  was 
specially  disliked  by  them.  His  castle  was  attacked  and 
burned,  and  his  infant  child  perished  in  the  flames.  Over- 
whelmed by  his  misfortune  and  his  grief,  the  poet  hastened 
to  London,  where  he  died  in  January,  1599.  There  was 
great  pomp  at  his  funeral.  "  Poets  attended  upon  his 
hearse,  and  mournful  elegies,  with  the  pens  that  wrote  them, 


80  SPENSER. 

were  thrown  into  his  tomb."  He  was  buried  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  near  the  tomb  of  Chaucer.  The  years  of  his  life 
were  almost  coincident  with  the  years  of  the  reign  of  the 
great  Queen.* 

His  literary  purpose.  Spenser's  avowed  aim  was  to  write 
in  the  spirit  of  Chaucer  and  Piers  Ploughman,  rather  than 
after  the  spiritless  versifiers  of  the  fifteenth  century.  His 
first  fame  was  gained  by  the  publication  of  the  Shepherd's 
Calendar.  This  work  is  a  series  of  pastorals,  divided  into 
twelve  parts,  a  part  for  each  month,  in  which,  as  in  Virgil's 
Bucolics,  the  imaginary  interlocutors  discuss  questions  of 
morality  and  of  state.  By  depicting  English  scenery,  and 
by  selecting  English  names  for  his  rustics,  he  endeavored  to 
give  a  national  air  to  these  eclogues.  They  abound  in  fine 
descriptions  of  nature.  Towards  their  close  he  anticipates 
the  greater  glory  that  will  be  found  in  his  later  writing. 
The  work  was  thought  by  his  contemporaries  to  mark  an 
epoch  in  literature.  In  language  and  in  sentiment  it  was 
more  rustic  than  pastoral  poetry  had  been. 

The  Faery  Queene,  (38-42)  Spenser's  greatest  work  is 
the  latest  and  most  brilliant  poetical  expression  of  the 
sentiments  of  chivalry.  Whatever  charms  may  be  in  alle- 
gory, in  graphic  narration,  in  splendid  description,  are  found 
in  this  extended,  though  incomplete  poem.  The  original 
plan  proposed  twelve  books  of  moral  ad  ventures,  each  book 
recounting  the  exploit  of  a  knight  and  the  triumph  of  a 
virtue.    The  hero  of  the  entire  poem  was  Prince  Arthur.     In 

*  "Short  COrtlng  lmir,  n  full  moustache,  close  clipped  betid,  heavy  e\ebrow?,  and 
under  them  thoughtful  brown  eyes,  whose  upper  eyelids  weigh  them  dreamily 
down  ;  a  long  and  straight  nose,  strongly  developed,  answering  to  a  long  and  some- 
what spar.'  face,  with  a  well -formed,  sensible-looking  forehead  ;  a  month  almost 
obscured  by  the  moustache,  but  still  showing  rather  full  lips,  denoting  feeling,  well 
srt  together,  so  thai  the  warmth  Of  feeling  -hall  not  run  riot,  with  a  tOUCh  Of  sadness 

in  them,    such  is  the  look  of  Spenser,  as  bk  portrait  hand-  it  down  ton*.    A 

refined,  I  bought  fill,  warm  hearted,  pure  smiled  Knirlinhniau."—  Clarendon  Pre* 
Series— The  Faery  Queene,  p.  10. 


THE     FAEET     QUE EKE.  81 

the  twelve  books  he  was  to  be  perfected  in  the  twelve  moral 
virtues;  and  the  poet  purposed,  if  this  work  should  be  suc- 
cessful, to  write  a  second  poem,  in  which  the  political  virtues 
of  the  same  hero  should  be  sung.  But  six  of  the  first  twelve 
books  were  published.  Tradition  asserts  that  the  latter  por- 
tion was  completed  and  lost  at  sea ;  but  it  is  probable  that 
the  design  was  never  executed.  That  the  work  is  incom- 
plete need  not  be  regretted ;  for  the  vigor,  invention,  and 
splendor  found  in  the  first  three  books  decline  in  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  sixth.  The  reader  has  keen  sympathy  for  the 
toiling  patience  which  polished  and  decorated  even  the  most 
obscure  parts  of  the  poem.  This  very  fidelity  to  details 
probably  prevented  the  completion  of  the  work. 

The  Argument  of  the  Poem.  The  hero,  Prince  Arthur, 
arriving  at  the  court  of  the  Faery  Queene,  in  Fairy-Land, 
finds  her  holding  a  solemn  festival  during  twelve  days.  At 
the  court  there  is  a  beautiful  lady,  for  whose  hand  twelve 
most  distinguished  knights  are  rivals ;  and  in  order  to  settle 
their  pretensions  these  twelve  heroes  undertake  twelve  sepa- 
rate adventures,  which  furnish  the  materials  for  the  action. 
The  First  Book  relates  the  expedition  of  the  Ked- Cross 
Knight,  who  is  the  allegorical  representative  of  Holiness, 
while  his  mistress  Una  represents  true  Religion;  and  the 
action  of  the  knight's  exploit  shadows  forth  the  triumph  of 
Holiness  over  the  enchantments  and  deceptions  of  Heresy. 
The  Second  Book  recounts  the  adventures  of  Sir  Guyon,  or 
Temperance;  the  Third,  those  of  Britomartis — a  female 
champion — or  Chastity.  Each  of  these  books  is  subdivided 
into  twelve  cantos ;  consequently  the  poem,  even  in  the  im- 
perfect form  under  which  we  possess  it,  is  extremely  volumi- 
nous. The  publication  of  these  three  books  was  long  delayed 
on  account  of  the  unfavorable  criticism  of  Harvey ;  but  in 
1589,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  visited  Spenser,  heard  the  fragment 
of  the  poem,  gave  it  enthusiastic  applause,  and  persuaded  the 


82  THE     FAEEY     QUEENE. 

author  to  go  with  him  to  England  in  order  that  what  was 
written  might  be  given  to  the  public  without  delay.* 

The  three  books  appeared  in  1590,  and  were  dedicated  to 
Elizabeth.  He  returned  to  Ireland  to  prosecute  his  work, 
and  in  1596  published  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  books, 
allegories  of  Friendship,  Justice,  and  Courtesy. 

The  quality  of  his  poetry.  There  are  no  blazing  passages 
of  passion  in  Spenser's  writing.  "  He  has  auroral  lights  in 
profusion,  but  no  lightning.''  f  We  may  smile  or  we  may 
be  saddened  in  reading  him,  but  we  neither  laugh  nor  ireep. 
The  power  of  his  genius  is  displayed  in  an  unequaled 
richness  of  description.  He  describes  to  the  eye.  ,  To  the 
airy  conceptions  of  allegory  he  gives  the  distinctness  of  real 
objects. 

Those  who  would  read  him  with  the  intensest  delight  \ 
must  not  try  to  interpret  the  allegory.  They  must  yield 
themselves  to  the  magic  of  his  imagination.  Though  tire- 
some to  many  a  reader,  he  is  the  most  enchanting  of  ports 
to  one  who  is  endowed  with  a  lively  fancy.  He  is  justly 
called  "  the  poet's  poet." 

*  "  When  we  conceive  Spenser  reciting  his  compositions  to  Raleigh  in  a  scene  so 
beautifully  appropriate,  the  mind  easts  pleasing  retrospect  over  that  Influence  which 

the  enterprise  of  the  discoverer  of  Virginia  and  the  genius  of  the  author  of  the 
Fnaij  (>>■,,  if  have  re-peel ively  produced   in   the  fortune  and  language  of  England. 

The  fancy  might  easily  be  pardoned  for  a  momentary  superstition  that  the  g 

their  country  hovered,  unseen,  over  their  meetin  first  look  of  regard 

on  the  poet  that  was  destined  to  inspire  her  future  Milton,  and  the  other  on  her 
maritime  hero,  who  paved  the  way  for  colonizing  distant  regions  of  the  earth,  where 
the  language  Of  England  was  to  be  spoken,  and  the  poetry  of  Spenser  to  be  ad- 
mired. "—Thomas  I  <im]>/><ll. 

t  Whipple. 

X  " l  Much  depends,1  say- 1  Iharlea  Lamb. l  upon  when  and  where  you  read  a  book. 
In  the  five  ,>v  fix  Impatient  minutes  before  the  dinner  is  quite  ready,  who  would 
think  Of  taking  up  the  F&  ry  (hh<iu  for  I  stopgap?'  Select  rather  a  June  morning, 
When  the  brilliant  white  clouds  are  Bailing  slowh  through  a  hlue  sky.  a  gM 
under  a  tree, looking  down  a  long  valley  with  broken  hills  in  the  distance;  let  mind 
and  body  both  be  at  case,  and  both  he  disposed  to  dream,  but  not  to  sleep,  and 
when  the  Influence*  of  nature  have  had  their  due  ctlcct.  open,  if  you  please,  at  the 
middle  of  the  Legend  of  Sir  Guyon.**— Professor  F.  J.  Child. 


THE     FAERY     QUEENE.  83 

No  poetry  can  be  more  uniformly  and  exquisitely  musi- 
cal than  Spenser's.  The  richness  of  the  sound,  the  sweet- 
ness of  the  rhythm,  would  surfeit  the  ear  and  make  the 
verse  enervate,  were  he  not  a  master  who  modulates  the 
sound,  and  paints  the  pictures  for  the  fancy.  The  stanza 
he  used,  named  after  him  the  Spenserian,  consists  of  nine 
lines,  and  is  formed  by  adding  an  Alexandrine  to  Chaucer's 
stanza  of  eight  lines.  It  demands  a  frequent  recurrence  of 
the  same  rhymes — four  of  one  ending,  three  of  another,  and 
two  of  a  third— and  in  supplying  this  demand  throughout  the 
poem,  Spenser  was  obliged  to  do  violence  to  the  orthography 
and  accentuation  of  the  language,  to  use  many  archaic  and 
provincial  words,  and  even,  in  some  cases,  to  invent  the 
word  that  should  furnish  his  verse  with  the  needed  rhyme. 
His  vocabulary  was  considered  pedantic  by  his  contempo- 
raries. His  peculiarities  have  affected  the  language  less  than 
those  of  any  other  great  writer. 

Whenever  Spenser  was  not  playing  the  part  of  a  courtier 
he  manifested  a  retiring  spirit.  He  was  imaginative  rather 
than  observant.  Still  he  has  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of 
his  nation.  Throughout  his  works  there  are  allusions  to 
her  greatness  and  warm  applause  for  her  championship  of 
justice  and  progress,  and  there  is  a  breathing  of  the  purest 
loyalty  for  the  nation's  queen. 

Among  the  more  important  of  his  minor  poetical  works 
are  Mother  Huhbertfs  Tale,  a  satire,  written  in  his  youth, 
upon  the  hypocrisy  of  certain  classes  of  the  clergy,  and  upon 
the  heartlessness  of  the  life  at  court;  Daphnaida  and  Astro- 
p7iel,  elegies  on  the  deaths  of  Lady  Howard  and  Sir  Philip 
Sidney  ;  and  above  all  his  Epithalamium,  written  in  cele- 
bration of  his  own  marriage  to  the  "fair  Elizabeth,"  the 
chastest  and  most  beautiful  marriage-hymn  to  be  found  in 
the  whole  range  of  literature.  The  ardor  of  his  love  trans- 
fused it  with  a  rapture  not  found  elsewhere  in  his  verse. 
Hallam  says  of  it, — "  It  is  a  strain  redolent  of  a  bridegroom's 


84  SPENSER. 

joy,  and  of  a  poet's  fancy.  The  English  language  seems  to 
expand  itself  with  a  copiousness  unknown  before,  while  he 
pours  forth  the  varied  imagery  of  this  splendid  little  poem." 
Spenser  has  left  one  work  which  displays  his  energy  and 
skill  as  a  writer  of  prose.  It  is  A  View  of  the  State  of  Ire- 
land, setting  forth  his  estimate  of  the  character  and  condi- 
tion of  the  Irish  people,  and  recommending  a  severe  and 
cruel  policy  to  the  English  government.* 

Spenser's  Contemporaries.  Samuel  Daniel  (1562-1619),  who 
is  said  to  have  succeeded  Spenser  as  Poet  Laureate,  enjoyed  among 
his  contemporaries  a  respect  merited  by  his  talents  and  by  his  char- 
acter. His  life  was  quiet  and  studious.  He  wrote  many  lyrics,  a 
few  dramatic  compositions,  a  poem  on  the  contest  between  the 
houses  of  York  and  Lancaster  (46),  and  a  History  of  England  from 
the  Conquest  to  the  Beign  of  Richard  II  His  language  is  pure, 
limpid,  and  free  from  the  affectation  of  archaism,  which  is  found 
in  Spenser's  writing. 

Michael  Drayton  (1553-1631)  was  an  industrious  poet;  also 
much  admired  by  his  contemporaries.  His  longest  and  most  cele- 
brated work,  entitled  Polyolbion  (48),  is  a  poetical  ramble  over 
England  and  Wales,  and  is  unique  in  literature.  In  thirty  ponder- 
ous cantos,  containing  fifteen  thousand  monotonous  Alexandrine 
couplets,  he  enthusiastically,  but  with  painful  accuracy,  describes 
the  rivers,  mountains,  and  forests  of  his  country,  giving  alto  de- 
tailed accounts  of  local  legends  and  antiquities.  Many  poetic  pas.- 
Mgee  are  found  in  the  work.  Among  his  other  writings  arc  The 
Baronf  Wars,  a  poem  describing  the  principal  events  of  the  unhappy 
reign  of  Edward  II.,  England^  Heroical  Epistles,  letters  supposed 
to  have  been  written  by  illustrious  Englishmen  to  the  objects  of 
their  love,  and  the  exquisite  Nymphidid  i47h  >»  which  everything 


*  The  following  generally  accessible  works  contain  specially  interesting  dlaeot- 

tlOlM  (.r  the  life  and  writings  of  Speii 

Whipple's  I'll  nitinx  of  /fir    If/.  <</'  Blitffllft,  The  Introtlmtinii  i.»  the  Clarendon 

tit  ion  of  the   Faery  Qiteene,  the  Memoir  in  Professor  Child's  Kdition  of 

Spenser's  works,  Hallam's  Lit,  rat ure  of  Eitr<>}>< .  Taine's  KnuUsh  Literature,  Hack- 

Wood1!  Magazine  for  November.  1881,  Campbell'      Specimen!  Of    English  Poetry 

Hozlitt'B  LeeturCB  on  the  English  Poets,  Lectures  11.  and  III. 


•       MINOR     ELIZABETHAN     POETS.  85 

that  is  delicate,  quaint,  and  fantastic  in  fairy  mythology  is  accumu« 
lated,  and  touched  with  consummate  felicity. 

Giles  and  Phineas  Fletcher.  The  success  of  Spenser  led 
many  aspirants  to  seek  poetical  fame  in  allegorical  composition, 
Two  brothers,  Giles  (1588-1623)  and  Phineas  Fletcher  (1584-1650), 
cousins  of  Beaumont's  colleague,  were  the  only  imitators  who  had 
enough  of  Spenser's  spirit  to  copy  him  with  any  success.  The  first 
published  a  poem  entitled  Christ's  Victory  and  Triumph  (53) ;  the 
second,  under  the  title  of  The  Purple  Island,  wrote  an  allegorical 
description  of  the  human  body  and  mind.  But  allegorical  anatomy, 
however  skilfully  managed,  is  not  attractive  to  the  reader.  When 
the  veins  and  arteries  of  the  body  are  described  as  brooks  and 
rivers  of  blood,  poetical  fancy  cannot  redeem  verse  from  the  ludi- 
crous misuse. 

English  Satire.  The  origin  of  English  poetical  satire  is  gener- 
ally assigned  to  this  age.  Many  passages,  indeed,  of  social  and 
personal  invective  are  found  in  earlier  writers ;  Chaucer's  pictures 
of  the  monastic  orders  abound  in  open  and  implied  censure ;  both 
the  spirit  and  matter  of  Langlande's  work  are  satirical ;  but  in 
neither  of  these  authors  is  satire  an  essential  characteristic  ;  a  cer- 
tain infusion  of  it  was  inevitable  to  the  task  they  undertook,  but  it 
was  far  from  being  a  primary  condition.  Skelton  was  too  ribald, 
too  full  of  mere  venom  and  spite  against  individuals,  to  be  ranked 
as  anything  more  than  a  mere  lampooner ;  and  Surrey  and  Wyatt 
pointed  out  the  way  to  this  kind  of  composition  without  following 
it  themselves.  The  first  English  writer  who  distinctly  calls  him- 
self a  satirist  is  Joseph  Hall  (1574-1656)  (118) ;  and  the  general 
opinion  of  later  critics  has  acquiesced  in  his  assertion.  In  1597, 
fresh  from  Cambridge,  he  published  three  books  of  "biting  satires, 
and  two  years  afterwards,  three  more  of  toothless  satires.  To 
the  collective  work  he  gave  the  name  of  Virgidemarium,  or  a  har- 
vest of  rods  (51).  These  poems  seem  to  fulfill  all  the  conditions  of 
satire ;  with  great  energy  and  some  humor,  they  attack  the  pre- 
vailing follies  and  affectations  of  both  literature  and  social  life. 
Though  the  numbers  are  often  harsh  and  the  meaning  obscure,  they 
possess  enough  of  the  spirit  of  Juvenal  to  make  them  still  readable. 
In  later  life  Hall  won  greater  distinction  by  his  sermons  ;  and  as  a 
champion  of  episcopacy  he  ventured  to  grapple  with  Milton  him- 
self. 


86  MINOR     ELIZABETHAN     POETS. 

The  number  of  minor  poets  produced  indicates  the  unparalleled 
literary  activity  of  the  Elizabethan  age.  As  many  as  two  hundred 
have  been  reckoned  who  gave  evidence  of  skill  in  constructing 
verse. 

It  is,  besides,  a  special  distinction  of  the  same  age  that  it  pro- 
duced translations  of  unusual  excellence.  The  finest  of  them,  the 
ll'md  and  Odyssey  of  George  Chapman  (1557-1634),  appeared 
early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Tliey  have  won  the  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  several  generations  of  poets,  from  Waller  to  Keats. 
"  The  earnestness  and  passion,"  says  Charles  Lamb,  "  which  he  has 
put  into  every  part  of  these  poems  would  be  incredible  to  a  reader 
of  more  modern  translations." 

But  the  grandest  phenomenon  of  the  epoch  of  Elizabeth  is  the 
Drama,  and  to  it  we  shall  now  address  ourselves. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

1.  The  Non- Dramatic  Poets  of  the  Elizabethan  Age,— 

Thomas  Sackville  and  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 

2.  Edmund  Spenser. 

.?.  His  Hesidence  in  Ireland. 

4.  His  Literary  Purpose. 

5.  The  (( Faery  QueeneJ9 

6\  The  Argument  of  the  Poem. 

7.  The  Quality  of  the  Poetry. 

8.  Spenser's    Contemporaries,— Samuel   Daniel.    Mi- 

chael   Drayton,    Cites    and    Phineas    Fletcher, 
Joseph  Hall,  and  George  Chapman. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

THE  DAWN  OF  THE  DRAMA. 

SPAIN  and  England  alone,  among  modern  civilized  nation^ 
possess  a  theatrical  literature  independent  in  its  origin, 
characteristic  in  its  form,  and  reflecting  faithfully  the  moral,  social, 
and  intellectual  features  of  the  people  among  whom  it  arose. 

The  Mysteries  and  Miracle  Plays.  The  dawning  of  the  English 
dramatic  literature  can  be  traced  to  a  period  not  far  removed  from 
the  Norman  Conquest ;  for  the  custom  of  dramatizing  the  lives  of 
the  saints  and  striking  episodes  of  Bible  History,  existed  as  early 
as  the  twelfth  century.  To  these  the  names  of  Mysteries  and 
Miracle  plays  were  respectively  given.  The  earliest  Ci  Mystery  "  on 
record   is  the  Play  of  St.    Catherine,    which   was  represented  at 

Dunstable  about  1119,  written  in  French,  and  was  in  all 
1119.]     probability  a  rude  picture  of  the  miracles  and  martyrdom 

of  that  saint.  These  performances  were  an  expedient 
employed  by  the  clergy  for  giving  religious  instruction  to  the 
people,  and  for  extending  and  strengthening  the  influence  of  the 
Church.  At  first  the  plays  were  composed  and  acted  by  monks  ; 
the  cathedral  was  transformed  for  the  nonce  into  a  theatre,  the 
stage  was  a  graduated  platform  in  three  divisions — representing 
Heaven,  Earth,  and  Hell — rising  one  over  the  other,  and  the  cos- 
tumes were  furnished  from  the  vestry  of  the  church.  The  simple 
faith  of  the  dramatists  and  of  their  audience,  saw  no  impropriety 
in  representing  the  most  supernatural  beings,  the  persons  of  the 
Trinity,  angels,  devils,  saints,  and  martyrs.  It  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  some  comic  element  should  be  introduced  to  enliven 
the  graver  scenes ;  and  this  was  supplied  by  representing  the  wicked 
personages  of  the  drama  as  placed  in  ludicrous  situations;  thus 
the  Devil  generally  played  the  part  of  the  clown  or  jester,  and  was 
exhibited  in  a  light  half  terrific  and  half  farcical.     The  modem 


6$  THE     MIRACLES. 

puppet-play  of  Punch  is  a  tradition  handed  down  from  thesi 
ancient  miracles,  in  which  the  Evil  One  was  alternately  the  con- 
queror and  the  victim  of  the  human  Buffoon,  Jester,  or  Vice,  as  he 
was  called.  The  morality  of  the  time  did  not  prevent  the  use  of 
vulgar  or  of  profane  language. 

Some  idea  of  these  religious  dramas  may  be  formed  from  theii 
titles.  The  Creation  of  the  World,  the  Fall  of  Man,  the  story  of 
Cain  and  Abel,  the  Crucifixion  of  Our  Lord,  the  Massacre  of  the  In- 
nocents, The  Play  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  the  Deluge,  are  in  the  list, 
besides  an  infinite  multitude  of  subjects  Taken  from  the  lives  and 
miracles  of  the  saints.  The  plays  are  generally  written  in  mixed 
prose  and  verse ;  and,  though  abounding  in  absurdities,  they  con- 
tain passages  of  simple  and  natural  pathos,  and  scenes  of  genuine, 
if  not  very  delicate  humor.  In  the  Deluge,  a  comic  scene  is  pro- 
duced by  the  refusal  of  Noah's  wife  to  enter  the  Ark,  and  by  the 
beating  which  terminates  her  resistance  and  scolding ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  Mystery  entitled  the  Sacrifice  of  Isaac  contains 
a  pathetic  dialogue  between  Abraham  and  his  son.  The  oldest 
manuscript  of  a  Miracle  play  in  English  is  that  of  the  Harrowing 
of  Hell,  i.  e.,  the  Conquering  of  Hell  by  Christ,  believed  to  have 
been  written  about  1350. 

The  Miracle  play  is  not  quite  extinct  even  yet ;  in  the  retired 
valleys  of  Catholic  Switzerland,  in  the  Tyrol,  and  in  some  seldom 
visited  districts  of  Germany,  the  peasants  still  annually  perform 
dramatic  spectacles  representing  episodes  in  the  life  of  Christ.* 

The  Moralities.  These  plays,  once  the  only  form  of  dramatic 
representation,  continued  to  be  popular  from  the  eleventh  to  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  they  were  supplanted  l>v 
the  Moralities.  The  subjects  of  these  new  dramas,  instead  of 
being  purely  religious,  were  moral,  as  their  name  implies  {  and  their 
ethical  lessons  were  conveyed  by  action  of  an  allegorical  kind 
Instead  of  their  Deity  and  his  angels,  the  saints,  the  patriarchy 
and  the  characters  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  the  persons  who 
figure  in  the  Moralities  are,  Every-Man,  a  general  type  or  expression 
of  humanity;  Lusty  Juventus,  who  represents  the  tollies  and  weak- 
nesses  of  youth;    Good   Counsel,    Repentance,    Gluttony,    Pride, 

*  8ee  description  of  the  play  at  Obcrammergau  In  Harper's  Monthly,  Vol.  XJLII., 
p.  174. 


THE     MORALITIES     AKD     INTERLUDES.        89 

Avarice,  and  the  like.  The  same  necessity  existed  as  before  for  the 
introduction  of  comic  scenes.  The  Devil  was  therefore  retained ; 
and  his  hard  blows  and  scoldings  with  the  Vice,  furnished  many 
"  a  fit  of  mirth."  *  The  oldest  English  Morality  now  extant  is  The 
Castle  of  Perseverance,  which  was  written  about  1450.  It  is  a  dra- 
matic allegory  jof  human  life,  representing  the  many  conflicting 
influences  that  surround  man  in  his  way  through  the  world. 
Another,  called  Lusty  Juvenilis,  contains  a  vivid  and  humorous 
picture  of  the  extravagance  and  debauchery  of  a  young  heir,  sur- 
rounded by  the  Virtues*'and  the  Vices,  and  ends  with  a  demonstra' 
tion  of  the  inevitable  misery  which  follows  a  departure  from  the 
path  of  virtue  and  religion. 

The  Interludes.  Springing  from  the  Moralities,  and  bearing 
some  general  resemblance  to  them,  though  exhibiting  a  nearer 
approach  to  the  regular  drama,  are  the  Interludes,  a  class  of  com- 
positions in  dialogue,  much  shorter  in  extent  and  more  merry  and 
farcical.  They  were  generally  played  in  the  intervals  of  a  festival, 
and  were  exceedingly  fashionable  about  the  time  when  the  great 
controversy  was  raging  between  the  Catholic  Church  and  the 
reformed  religion  in  England.  The  most  noted  author  of  these 
grotesque  and  merry  pieces  was  John  Heywood,  a  man  of  learning 
and  accomplishments,  who  seems  to  have  performed  the  duties  of 
entertainer  at  the  court  of  Henry  VIII.  His  Four  P's  is  a  good 
specimen  of  this  phase  of  the  drama.  It  turns  upon  a  dispute  be- 
tween a  Peddler,  a  Pardoner,  a  Palmer  and  a  Poticary,  in  which 
each  tries  to  tell  the  greatest  lie.  They  tax  their  powers,  until  at 
last,  by  chance,  the  Palmer  says  that  he  never  saw  a  woman  out 
of  temper ;  whereupon  the  others  declare  his  lie  the  greatest  that 
can  be  told,  and  acknowledge  him  the  victor. 

*  "As  for  the  Vice,  he  commonly  acted  the  part  of  a  hroad,  rampant  Jester  and 
buffoon,  full  of  mad  pranks  and  mischief-making,  liberally  dashed  with  a  sort  of 
tumultuous,  swaggering  fun.  He  was  arrayed  in  fantastic  garb,  with  something  of 
drollery  in  hie  appearance,  so  as  to  aid  the  comic  effect  of  his  action,  and  armed 
with  a  dagger  of  lath,  perhaps  as  symbolical  that  his  use  of  weapons  was  but  to  the 
end  of  provoking  its  own  defeat.  Therewithal  he  was  vastly  given  to  cracking 
ribald  and  saucy  jokes  with  and  upon  the  devil,  and  treating  him  in  a  style  of 
coarse  familiarity  and  mockery;  and  a  part  of  his  ordinary  business  was  to  bestride 
the  Devil,  and  beat  him  till  he  roared,  and  the  audience  roared  with  him;  the 
scene  ending  with  his  being  carried  off  to  Hell  on  :' .e  Devil's  back."— Hudson  t 
Shakespeare's  Life,  Art  and  Characters,  Vol.  I.,  p.  73- 


90  THE     FIRST     ENGLISH    TRAGEDY. 

The  Pageants.  The  national  taste  for  dramatic  entertainments 
was  still  further  fostered  by  those  pageants  which  were  often 
employed  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  citizens,  or  to  compliment  an 
illustrious  visitor.  On  some  lofty  platform,  in  the  porch  or  church- 
yard of  a  cathedral,  in  the  Town  Hall  or  over  the  city  gate,  a 
number  of  figures  suitably  dressed,  accompanied  their  action  with 
poetical  declamation  and  music.  The  Prophets  and  Saints  who 
welcomed  the  royat  stranger  in  the  thirteenth  century  with  bar- 
barous Latin  hymns,  were  gradually  supplanted  by  the  Virtues ; 
and  these,  in  their  turn,  made  way  for  the  Cupids,  the  Muses,  and 
other  classical  personages,  whose  influence  has  continued  almost  to 
the  literature  of  our  own  time.  Such  spectacles  were  of  course 
frequently  exhibited  at  the  Universities,  where  the  Latin  tongue 
was  invariably  employed  and  Latin  plays  were  imitated.  These 
dramas,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have  exercised  any  appreciable 
influence  on  the  growth  of  the  English  stage. 

We  have  traced  the  progress  of  the  dramatic  art  from  its  rude 
infancy  in  England,  and  have  seen  how  every  step  of  that  advance 
removed  it  farther  from  a  purely  religious  character.  The  last 
step  of  the  progress  was  the  creation  of  a  drama  which  gives  a 
scenic  representation  of  historical  events  and  of  social  life.  It  was 
about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  that  activity  of  creation 
was  first  perceptible  in  this  direction.  John  Bale  (1494-1563),  the 
author  of  many  semi-polemical  plays,  set  the  example  of  extract- 
ing materials  for  rude  dramas  from  the  chronicles  of  his  native 
country,  His  King  John  occupies  an  intermediate  place  between 
the  Moralities  and  the  historical  plays. 

The  First  Regular  Tragedy  and  Comedy.  The  earliest 
position  in  our  language  that  possesses  all  the  requisite-  of  a 
regular  tragedy,  and  the  first  that  is  written  in  blank  verse,  is  the 
play  of  Gorboduc,  or  Ferrex  and  Porrex,  written  by  Thomas  Sack- 
ville*  (the  principal  writer  in  the  "  Mirror  for  Magistrates  " ),  and 
acted  in  1562  for  the  entertainment  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Its  sub- 
ject is  borrowed  from  the  old  half-mythological  Chronicles  of 
Britain.  The  dialogue  of  Qorbodvc  is  regularly  and  carefully  con- 
structed ;  but  it  is  totally  destitute  of  variety  of  pause,  and  conse- 

*  One  Thomas  Norton  Is  Bald  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  first  three  acts  ol 
this  play,  but  his  claim  is  disputed. 


GAMMER     GURTOK    S     KEEDLE.  91 

quently  is  unnatural.     The  sentence  almost  invariably  terminate! 
with  the  line;  and  the  effect  of  the  whole  is  tedious;  the  action 
also  is  oppressively  tragic,  being  a  monotonous,  dismal  succession 
of  slaughters,  ending  with  the  desolation  of  an  entire  kingdom. 
The  first  English  comedy  was  Ralph   Royster  Doyster,  acted  in 

1551,  and  written  by  Nicholas  Udall,  master  of  Eton 
1551.]     College.     This  was  followed,  about  fifteen  years  later,  by 

Gammer  Gurtori's  Needle,  composed  by  John  Still,  after- 
wards a  bishop,  who  had  previously  been  master  of  St.  John's  and 
Trinity  Colleges  in  Cambridge.  This  play  was  probably  acted  by 
the  students  of  those  colleges.  Both  these  works  are  curious 
and  interesting,  not  only  as  the  oldest  specimens  of  the  class  of 
literature  to  which  they  belong,  but  also  in  some  measure  from 
their  intrinsic  merit.  The  action  of  the  former  and  better  comedy 
takes  place  in  London.  The  principal  characters  are  a  rich  and 
pretty  widow,  her  lover,  and  an  irrepressible  suitor,  who  gives  the 
title  to  the  play.  This  ridiculous  pretender  to  gayety  and  love 
is  betrayed  into  all  sorts  of  absurd  and  humiliating  scrapes.  The 
piece  ends  with  the  return  of  the  favored  lover  from  a  voyage 
which  he  had  undertaken  in  a  momentary  pique.  The  manners 
represented  are  those  of  the  middle  class  of  the  period ;  and  the 
picture  given  of  life  in  London  in  the  sixteenth  century  is  curious, 
animated,  and  natural.  The  language  is  lively,  and  the  dialogue 
is  carried  on  in  loose  doggerel  rhyme,  very  well  adapted  to  repre- 
sent comic  conversation.  The  plot  of  this  drama  is  well  imagined, 
and  the  reader's  curiosity  is  kept  alive. 

Gammer  Gurton's  Needle  is  a  composition  of  a  much  lower  and 
more  farcical  order.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the  humblest  rustic  life, 
and  all  the  dramatis  personm  belong  to  the  uneducated  class.  The 
principal  action  of  the  comedy  is  the  sudden  loss  of  a  needle  with 
which  Gammer  (Good  Mother)  Gurton  has  been  mending  a  garment 
of  her  man  Hodge,  a  loss  comparatively  serious  when  needles  were 
rare  and  costly.  The  whole  intrigue  consists  in  the  search  insti- 
tuted after  this  unfortunate  little  implement,  which  is  at  last  dis- 
covered by  Hodge  himself,  on  suddenly  sitting  down,  sticking  in 
the  garment  which  Gammer  Gurton  had  been  repairing. 

The  Fir^t  Dramatic  Companies.  As  yet  there  were  neither 
regular  theatres  nor  professional  actors.     Plays  were  performed  in 


92  THE     FIRST     ENGLISH     THEATRE. 

town-halls,  court-yards  of  inns,  cock-pits,  and  noblemen's  dining- 
halls;  and  the  parts  were  taken  by  amateurs.  Soon,  however. 
companies  of  actors,  singers,  and  tumblers,  calling  themselves  the 
servants  of  some  nobleman  whose  livery  they  wore,  were  formed, 
and  wandered  about  the  country,  performing  wherever  they  could 
find  an  audience.  Protected  by  the  livery  of  their  master  against 
the  severe  laws  which  branded  strollers  as  vagabonds,  they  sought 
the  patronage  of  the  civil  authorities.  Records  of  the  municipal 
bodies  and  the  household  registers  of  illustrious  families  abound  in 
entries  of  permissions  granted  to  such  strolling  companies,  and  of 
moneys  given  to  them.  The  most  interesting  of  these  entries  is 
found  in  the  municipal  records  of  Stratford-upon-Avon,  from  which 
we  learn  that  the  players  visited  that  place  for  the  first  time  in 
1569.  Their  performance  wras  probably  given  under  the  patronage 
of  Shakespeare's  father,  who  was  high-bailiff  of  the  town  in  that  year. 
But  in  the  year  1575,  under  the  powerful  patronage  of  the  Earl 
of  Leicester,  James  Burbadge  built  the  first  English 
1575.]  theatre.  The  venture  proved  so  successful,  that  twelve 
theatres  were  soon  furnishing  entertainment  to  the  citizens 
of  London.  Of  these  the  most  celebrated  was  "  The  Globe."  It 
was  so  named  because  its  sign  bore  the  effigy  of  Atlas  supporting 
the  globe,  with  the  motto,  "  Totus  Mundus  agit  Huttrionew ,"'  and  was 
situated  in  Southwark,  near  London  Bridge.  The  majority  of  the 
London  theatres  were  on  the  southern  or  Surrey  bank  of  the 
Thames,  in  order  to  be  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  city,  whose 
officers  and  magistrates,  being  under  the  influeuce  of  the  severe 
doctrines  of  Puritanism,  carried  on  a  constant  war  against  the 
players  and  the  play-houses.  Some  of  these  theatres  were  cock- 
pits (the  name  of  "  the  pit"  still  suggesting  that  fact)  ;  some  wen- 
arenas  for  bull-baiting  and  bear-baiting;  and,  compared  with  fche 
magnificent  theatres  of  the  present  day,  all  were  poor  and  squalid, 
retaining  in  their  form  and  arrangements  many  tracts  o\'  the 
old  model— the  inn-yard.  Most  of  the  theatres  were  entirely 
uncovered,*  excepting  over  the  stage,  where  a  thatched  roof  pro- 
tected the  actors  from  the  weather.  The  spectators  W< 
to  sunshine  and  to  storm.     The  boxes,  or  "  rooms,"  as  they  were 

*  Shakespeare's  company  owned  Um  Blaekfrien  Theatre  ami  the  Globe.  During 
the  winter  the  company  played  in  the  former,  winch  ua- the  smaller  and  entirely 
roofed  over  ;  but  during  the  rammer  they  aaed  the  Globe. 


THE    FURKITURE    OF    THE    STAGE.  93 

then  styled,  were  arranged  nearly  as  in  the  present  day ;  but  the 
musicians,  instead  of  being  placed  in  the  orchestra,  were  in  a  lofty 
gallery  over  the  stage. 

The  Early  Theatres.  The  most  remarkable  peculiarities  of  the 
early  English  theatres  were  the  total  absence  of  painted  or  movable 
scenery,  and  the  necessity  that  the  parts  for  women  should  be  pep 
formed  by  men  or  boys,  actresses  being  as  yet  unknown.  A  few 
screens  of  cloth  or  tapestry  gave  the  actors  the  opportunity  of 
making  their  exits  and  entrances;  a  placard,  bearing  the  name 
of  Rome,  Athens,  London,  or  Florence,  as  the  case  might  be,  indi- 
cated to  the  audience  the  scene  of  the  action.  Certain  typical 
articles  of  furniture  were  used.  A  bed  on  the  stage  suggested  a 
bedroom  ;  a  table  covered  with  tankards,  a  tavern ;  a  gilded  chair 
surmounted  by  a  canopy,  and  called  ua  state,"  a  palace;  an  altar, 
a  church  ;  and  the  like.  A  permanent  wooden  structure  like  a 
scaffold,  erected  at  the  back  of  the  stage,  represented  objects  accord- 
ing to  the  requirements  of  the  piece,  such  o :  the  wall  of  a  castle 
or  besieged  city,  the  outside  of  a  house,  or  a  position  enabling  one 
of  the  actors  to  overhear  others  without  being  seen  himself. 

Although  thus  scantily  equipped  in  some  respects,  in  costume ry 
the  early  stage  was  lavish  and  splendid.  "  The  Prologue  "  appeared 
in  a  long,  flaming,  velvet  robe,  made  after  the  pattern  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  all  the  other  actors  were  attired  in  the  richest 
dress  of  their  own  day.  Its  picturesqueness,  instead  of  marring, 
heightened  the  effect.  But  the  use  of  contemporary  costume  in 
plays  whose  action  was  supposed  to  take  place  in  Greece,  Rome,  or 
Persia,  naturally  led  to  amazing  absurdities,  such  as  arming  the 
assassins  of  Caesar  with  Spanish  rapiers,  or  furnishing  Carthaginian 
senators  with  watches.  Anachronisms,  however,  were  not  offensive 
to  the  uncritical  spectators  of  those  times.  Certain  attributes  were 
associated  with  supernatural  personages.  A  "  roobe  for  to  goo  in- 
Tisibell "  is  one  of  the  items  in  an  old  list  of  properties  ;  and  in  all 
probability  the  spectral  armor  of  the  Ghost  in  Hamlet  was  to  be 
found  in  the  wardrobe  of  the  ancient  theatres.  The  curtain  is  sup- 
posed to  have  opened  perpendicularly  in  the  middle ;  and  besides 
this  principal  curtain,  there  seem  to  have  been  others  occasionally 
drawn  so  as  to  divide  the  stage  into  several  apartments. 


94  THE     ACTOR'S     SOCIAL     POSITION. 

The  foregoing  statements  concerning  the  early  theatre  show  how 
meagre  were  the  material  aids  on  which  the  dramatist  could  rely. 
That  very  poverty  of  the  theatre  was  among  the  conditions  of  the 
excellence  of  the  Elizabethan  dramatist.  He  could  not  depend 
upon  the  painter  of  scenes  for  any  interpretation  of  the  play,  and 
therefore  he  was  constrained  to  make  his  thought  vigorous  and  his 
language  vivid. 

The  performance  began  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  was  an- 
nounced by  flourishes  of  a  trumpet.  The  prologue  was  generally 
declaimed  by  its  author,  who  was  dressed  in  antique  costume. 
Black  drapery  hung  around  the  stage,  was  the  symbol  of  a  tragedy; 
and  rushes  strewn  ou  the  stage,  enabled  the  best  patrons  of  the 
company  to  sit  upon  the  floor.  Dancing  and  singing  took  place 
between  the  acts;  and,  as  a  rule,  a  comic  ballad,  sung  by  a  clown 
with  accompaniment  of  tabor  and  pipe  and  farcical  dancing,  closed 
the  entertainment. 

The  social  position  of  an  actor  and  playwright,  even  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  not  enviable.  He  was  still  re- 
garded by  many  as  scarcely  a  shade  removed  above  the  "  rogues 
and  vagabonds  "  of  former  generations;  but  this  drawback  seems 
to  have  been  fully  compensated  for  by  extraordinary  profits.  That 
these  were  unusually  great  is  proved,  not  only  by  historical  evidence, 
such  as  the  frequent  allusions  made  by  the  preachers  and  moralists 
of  the  day  to  the  pride,  luxury,  and  magnificence  in  dress  of  the 
successful  performers,  but  also  by  the  rapidity  with  which  many 
of  them,  as  Shakespeare,  Burbadgc,  and  Alleyn,  amassed  consider- 
able fortunes. 

Notwithstanding  the  social  discredit  that  attached  to  the  actor's 
profession,  the  drama  reached  such  popularity,  and  the  employ- 
ment wTas  so  lucrative,  that  it  soon  became  the  common  resort  of 
literary  genius  in  search  of  employment.  Indeed,  nothing  is  more 
remarkable  than  the  marvclously  rapid  growth  of  this  department 
of  our  literature.  It  passed  from  infancy  to  maturity  in  a  single 
generation.    Twenty  years  after  the  appearance  oi  the  fori  mde 

tragedy,  the  theatre  entered  upon  the  most  glorious  period  of  it» 
history,  -a  period  without  parallel  in  tin*  literature  of  any  country. 
This  was  mainly  the  work  of  a  small  band  of  poets,  whose  careers 
all  began  about  the  same  time. 


SHAKESPEARE'S     CONTEMPORARIES.  95 

Shakespeare's  Early  Contemporaries.  They  were  most  of 
them  men  of  liberal  education,  but  of  dissolute  lives.  One  or  two 
of  them  left  rural  homes  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  London,  and  were 
lured  into  the  new  profession  by  the  prospect  of  swift  gain.  They 
all  possessed  abilities  of  a  high  order.  William  Shakespeare  is 
the  giant  of  the  group,  and  beside  him  the  others  dwindle  into 
comparative  insignificance.  These  men,  George  Chapman,  John 
Lyly,  George  Peele,  Robert  Greene,  Christopher  Marlowe,  and 
Thomas  Kycl,  are  often  spoken  of  as  the  predecessors  of  Shake- 
speare ;  but  as  none  of  them  preceded  him  by  more  than  a  year  or 
two,  and  as  all  were  fellow- workers  with  him  for  a  time,  it  seems 
proper  to  style  them  the  contemporaries  of  his  early  literary  life. 

The  careers  of  these  men  in  their  general  outlines  were  the  same. 
They  attached  themselves  as  dramatic  actors  and  poets  to  one  of 
the  numerous  companies,  and  after  a  short  apprenticeship  passed 
in  rewriting  and  rearranging  plays,  they  gradually  rose  to  original 
works,  written  either  alone  or  in  partnership  with  a  brother  play- 
wright. As  there  was  no  dramatic  copyright  at  this  time,  the 
playwrights  had  the  strongest  motive  for  taking  every  precaution 
that  their  pieces  should  not  be  printed,  publication  instantly  anni- 
hilating their  monopoly,  and  allowing  rival  companies  to  profit  by 
their  labors ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  so  few  of  the  dramas  of 
the  period,  in  spite  of  their  unequaled  merit  and  their  great 
popularity,  were  given  to  the  press  during  the  lives  of  their 
authors.  It  also  explains  the  singularly  careless  execution  of  such 
copies  as  were  printed,  these  having  been  published  in  many  cases 
surreptitiously,  and  contrary  to  the  wishes  and  interests  of  the 
author.  Only  the  briefest  mention  can  be  made  of  the  subordinate 
members  of  this  remarkable  group  of  writers. 

John  Lyly  (1553-1601  ?),  educated  at  Oxford,  a  man  of  classical 
culture,  composed  plays  for  the  court,  and  pageants.  His  writings 
exhibit  genius,  though  strongly  tinctured  with  a  peculiar  affecta- 
tion, with  which  he  infected  the  language  of  elegant  conversation, 
and  even  of  literature,  till  it  fell  under  the  ridicule  of  Shakespeare. 
This  pedantic,  superfine  use  of  language  is  known  as  Euphuism* 
The    name   was    taken   from   the   title  of  one   of  Lyly's   works, 

*  "  To  this  day  every  man  who  has  anything  of  the  coxcomb  in  his  brain,  who 
desires  a  dress  for  his  thought  more  .splendid  than  his  thought,  slides  unconsciously 
into  Euphuism."—^.  P.  Whipple. 


96  PEBLE,  KYD  AND  GBEENE. 

"Euphues;  the  Anatomy  of  Wit."  Without  drinking  from  this 
fountain  of  affectation,  one  can  know  its  flavor  from  the  language 
of  Sir  Piercie  Shafton,  in  Scott's  novel,  "  The  Monastery." 

George  Peele  (1552-1598  ?),  like  Lyly,  had  received  a  liberal 
education  at  Oxford.  He  was  one  of  Shakespeare's  fellow-actors 
and  fellow-shareholders  in  the  Blackfriars  Theatre.  His  earliest 
work,  The  Array nement  of  Paris,  was  printed  anonymously  in  1584. 
His  most  celebrated  dramatic  works  were  David  and  Bethsabe, 
and  Abaolon,  in  which  there  are  great  richness  and  beauty  of  lan- 
guage, and  indications  of  a  high  order  of  pathetic  and  elevated 
emotion.     H\&  Edward  I.  is  supposed  to  be  our  first  historical  play. 

Thomas  Kyd,  the  "  sporting  Kyd,"  of  Ben  Jonson,  was  possibly 
the  author  of  the  famous  play  called  Jeronimo,  to  which,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  many  recastings  it  received,  so  many  authors  have 
been  ascribed.  The  Spanish  Tragedy,  which  is  a  continuation  of 
Jeronimo,  was  undoubtedly  his. 

Robert  Greene  (1560-1592)  was  a  Cambridge  man,  and  the 
author  of  a  multitude  of  tracts  and  pamphlets  on  miscellaneous 
subjects.  Sometimes  they  were  tales,  often  translated  or  expanded 
from  the  Italian  novelists ;  sometimes  amusing  exposures  of  the 
various  arts  of  cony-catching,  i.  e.,  cheating  and  swindling,  practised 
at  that  time  in  London,  and  in  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  Greene 
was  personally  not  unversed ;  sometimes  moral  confessions,  like  the 
Groatsworth  of  Wit,  or  Never  too  Late,  purporting  to  be  a  warning 
to  others  against  the  consequences  of  unbridled  passions.  In  this 
group  of  dramatists  his  place  is  next  below  Marlowe. 

But  by  far  the  most  powerful  genius  among  them  was  Christo- 
topher  Marlowe  (1564-1593).  On  leaving  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge he  joined  a  troop  of  actors,  among  whom  he  was  remarkable 
for  vice  and  debauchery.  His  career  was  as  short  as  it  was  dis- 
graceful :  he  was  stabbed  in  the  head  with  his  own  dagger,  which 
he  had  drawn  in  a  quarrel  with  an  antagonist,  and  he  died  of  this 
wound  at  the  age  of  thirty.  His  works  are  not  numerous  ;  but  they 
are  strongly  distinguished  from  those  of  preceding  and  contemporary 
dramatists  by  an  air  of  astonishing  energy  and  elevation — an  eleva- 
tion,  it   is  fcrne,  Which    is  sometimes   exaggerated,   and   an   energy 

which  occasionally  degenerates  into  extravagance.     n«'  established 

the  use  of  blank  verse  in  the  English  drama.  His  first  work  was 
the  tragedy  of  Tamburlaine  the  Great.  The  declamation  in  this 
piece,  though  sometimes  bombastic,  led  Ben  Jonson  to  speak  of 


MARLOWE     AND     CHAPMAN.  9t 

"  Marlowe's  mighty  line."  But  in  spite  of  the  bombast,  the  piece 
contains  many  passages  of  great  power  and  beauty.  Marlowe's  best 
work  is  the  drama  of  Faust  us  (71),  founded  upon  the  same  popular 
legend  which  Goethe  adopted  as  the  groundwork  of  his  tragedy ;  and 
though  the  German  poet's  work  is  on  the  whole  vastly  superior,  there 
is  certainly  no  passage  in  the  tragedy  of  Goethe  in  which  terror, 
despair,  and  remorse  are  painted  with  so  powerful  a  hand  as  in  the 
great  closing  scene  of  Marlowe's  piece.  The  tragedy  of  the  Jew 
of  Malta,  though  inferior  to  Faustus,  is  characterized  by  similar 
merits  and  defects.  The  hero,  Barabas,  is  the  type  of  the  Jew  as 
he  appeared  to  the  rude  and  bigoted  imaginations  of  the  fifteenth 
century — a  monster  half-terrific,  half-ridiculous,  impossibly  rich, 
inconceivably  bloodthirsty,  cunning,  and  revengeful,  the  bugbear 
of  an  age  of  ignorance  and  persecution.  The  intense  expression 
of  his  rage,  however,  his  triumph  and  his  despair,  give  occasion  for 
many  noble  bursts  of  Marlowe's  powerful  declamation.  The  tragedy 
of  Edward  II.  (70),  which  was  the  last  of  this  great  poet's  works, 
shows  that  in  some  departments  of  his  art,  and  particularly  that 
of  moving  terror  and  pity,  he  might,  had  he  lived,  have  become 
no  insignificant  rival  of  Shakespeare  himself. 

Marlowe  is  honorably  known  in  other  departments  of  poetry  also. 
His  charming  poem,  The  Passionate  Shepherd,  had  the  rare  dis- 
tinction of  being  quoted  by  Shakespeare,  and  of  being  answered  in 
"  The  Nymph's  Reply,"  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 

The  merits  of  George  Chapman  (1557-1634)  as  a  translator 
have  entirely  eclipsed  his  dramatic  fame. 

Richard  Grant  White's  admirable  "  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the 
English  Drama  to  the  time  of  Shakespeare,"  and  Rev.  H.  N.  Hudson's  "Historical 
Sketch  of  the  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Drama  in  England,"  are  the  finest  discus- 
sions to  be  found  by  the  student  upon  the  topic  treated  of  in  this  chapter. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  :— 

1.  The  Mysteries  and  Miracle  Plays, 

2.  The  Moralities. 

3.  The  Interludes. 

4.  The  Pageants. 

5.  The  First  Begular  Tragedy  and  Comedy. 

6.  The  Early  Theatres. 

7.  The  Social  Position  of  Actor  and  Playwright, 

8.  Shakespeare's  Early  Contemporaries. 

5 


CHAPTEB   IX. 

WILLIAM    SHAKESPEARE. 


*  I  loved  the  man  and  do  honor  to  his  memory,  on  this  side  idolatry,  as  much  w 
any.    He  was  indeed  honest  and  of  an  open  and  free  nature."— Ben  Jonson. 

"  And  he,  the  man  whom  Nature  selfe  had  made 
To  mock  hcrselfe  and  Truth  to  imitate.'1— Spenser. 

*  Sweetest  Shakespeare,  Fancy's  child."— Milton. 

"  But  Shakespeare's  magic  could  not  copied  he, 
Within  that  circle  none  durst  walk  hut  he."—  Dry  den. 

"  I  hold  a  perfect  comedy  to  be  the  perfection  of  human  composition ;  and  I 
firmly  believe  that  fifty  Iliads  and  Aeneids  could  be  written  sooner  thau  such  a 
character  as  FalstafTs."— Horace  Walpole. 

M  I  am  always  happy  to  meet  persons  who  perceive  the  transcendent  superiority 
of  Shakespeare  over  all  other  writers." — R.  W.  Emerson. 

" 1  cannot  account  for  Shakespeare's  low  estimate  of  his  own  writings,  except 
from  the  sublimity,  the  super-humanity  of  his  genius."—  Wordswort h. 

"  Shakespeare  is  of  no  age.  He  speaks  a  language  which  thrills  in  our  blood  in 
spite  of  the  separation  of  two  hundred  yean.  His  thoughts,  passions,  feelings, 
strains  of  fancy,  all  are  of  this  day  as  they  were  of  his  own;  and  his  genius  may  be 
contemporary  with  the  mind  of  every  generation  for  a  thousand  years  to  come."— 
l*ix>f.  Wilson. 

"  More  full  of  wisdom  and  ridicule  and  sagacity  than  all  the  moralists  Bad 
satirists  that  ever  existed,  Shakespeare  is  more  mild,  airy  and  inventive,  and 
more  pathetic  and  fantastic,  than  all  the  poets  of  all  regions  and  ages  of  the  world, 
and  has  all  those  elements  so  happily  mixed  up  in  him,  and  bears  his  high  faculties 
so  temperately,  that  the  most  severe  reader  cannot  complain  of  him  for  want  of 
strength  or  of  reason,  nor  the  most  sensitive,  for  defect  of  ornament  or  ingenuity." 
—Lord  Jeffrey. 

"  The  name  of  Shakespeare  is  the  greatest  in  our  literature— it  is  the  ^oatest  in 
all  literature.  No  man  ever  came  near  him  in  the  creative  powers  of  the  mind; 
no  man  ever  had  such  strength  at  once,  and  MOB  variety  of  imagination.  Coleridge 
has  most  felicitously  applied  to  him  a  Greek  epithet,  given  before  to  I  know  not 
whom,  certainly  none  so  deserving  of  it,— M^piorovt,  the  thoxisand-souled  Shake- 
speare. "—IlcUlam . 


SHAKESPEARE.  99 

"  I  think  most  readers  of  Shakespeare  sometimes  find  themselves  thrown  into 
exalted  mental  conditions  like  those  produced  hy  music.  Then  they  may  drop  the 
book  to  pass  at  once  into  the  region  of  thoughts  without  words."—  0.  W.Holmes. 

"  Whatever  other  learning  he  wanted,  he  was  master  of  two  books  unknown  to 
many  profound  readers,  though  books  which  the  last  conflagration  alone  can  destroy, 
—I  mean  the  Book  of  Nature  and  that  of  Man.1'— Edward  Young. 

THE  authentic  biography  of  the  most  famous  writer  in 
English  literature  is  very  brief.  The  following  facts 
can  be  positively  stated  about  William  Shakespeare :  John 
and  Mary  Shakespeare  were  his  parents.  He  was  christened 
in  the  little  town  of  Stratford-on-Avon,  in  War- 
1564.]  wickshire,  England,  the  26th  day  of  April,  1564. 
He  was  married  when  eighteen  years  old.  Three 
years  after  his  marriage  he  went  from  Stratford  to  London. 
He  was  an  actor,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Globe 
Theatre,  in  1589.  Ben  Jonson  was  his  intimate  acquaint- 
ance. His  last  years  were  spent  in  his  native  place,  where 
he  was  one  of  the  influential  citizens.  He  was  once  a 
plaintiff  in  a  suit-at-law.  He  died  on  the  23d  day  of  April, 
1616. 

Tradition  says  that  he  was  a  man  of  fine  form  and  fea- 
tures, that  he  was  sometimes  too  convivial,  that  he  wa3 
beloved  by  nearly  all  who  knew  him,  that  he  had  the  per- 
sonal acquaintance  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.  His  father, 
John  Shakespeare,  probably  a  glover,  had  married  Mary 
Arderne,  whose  family  had  figured  in  the  courtly  and  war- 
like annals  of  preceding  reigns. 

That  John  Shakespeare  had  been  in  flourishing  circum- 
stances is  proved  by  his  having  long  been  one  of  the  Alder- 
men of  Stratford,  and  by  his  having  served  in  the  office  of 
Bailiff  or  Mayor  in  1569.  Mary  Arderne  had  brought  her 
husband  a  small  property.  This  acquisition  seems  to  have 
tempted  him  to  engage,  without  experience,  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  which  ended  disastrously  in  his  being  obliged  at 
different  times  to  mortgage  and  sell,  not  only  his  farm,  but 
even  one  of  the  houses  in  Stratford  of  which  he  had  been 


100  SHAKESPEARE. 

owner.  He  at  last  retained  nothing  save  that  small,  but 
now  venerable  dwelling,  consecrated  to  all  future  ages  by 
being  the  spot  where  the  greatest  of  poets  was  born.  His 
distresses  appear  to  have  become  severe  in  1579 ;  and  he 
was  unable  to  extricate  himself  from  his  embarrassments, 
until  his  son  had  gained  a  position  of  competence,  and  even 
of  affluence. 

That  William  Shakespeare  could  have  derived  even  the 
most  elementary  instruction  from  his  parents  seems  impos- 
sible; for  neither  of  them  could  write — an  accomplishment, 
however,  which,  it  should  be  remarked,  was  comparatively 
rare  in  Elizabeth's  reign.  But  there  existed  at  that  time, 
and  there  exists  at  the  present  day,  in  the  borough  of  Strat- 
ford, an  endowed  " free  grammar-school ;"  and  it  is  incon- 
ceivable that  John  Shakespeare,  Alderman  and  Past  Baililf 
as  he  was,  should  have  neglected  the  opportunity  for  edu- 
cating his  son.  This  opportunity,  together  with  the  exten- 
sive though  irregular  reading  of  which  his  works  give 
evidence,  and  the  vague  tradition  that  he  had  been  "  in  his 
youth  a  schoolmaster  in  the  country,"  make  it  probable 
that  the  poet  had  more  training  than  some  of  his  admir 
would  give  him  credit  for.  It  has  been  reasonably  inferred 
that  during  his  early  years  he  must  have  been  a  student  in  the 
office  of  a  lawyer;  for  throughout  his  works  he  shows  extra- 
ordinary knowledge  of  the  technical  language  of  the  law.* 

The  most  familiar  of  the  legends  concerning  him  repre- 
sents his  youth  as  wild  and  irregular,  and  tells  o['  a  deer- 
stealing  expedition  in  company  with  riotous  young  fellows, 
to  Sir  Thomas  Lucy's  park  at  Oharloote,  near  Stratford. 
According  to  the  story,  Shakespeare  was  seized,  brought 
before  the  indignant  justice  of  the  peace. and  flogged.  I 
this  indignity  be  revenged  himself  by  writing  a  satiric  ballad 
and  attaching  it  to  the  gates  of  Oharlcotcf    Then  the  wrath 

*  See  AttakHit  \r»»f/rft/,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  84. 

t  For  a  difOQMion  of  this  legend    and  for  a  stanza  of  the  ballad,  ace  WMU'i 
Memoir*  of  Shakesjvare,  p.  xxxvi.,  seq. 


SHAKESPEARE.  101 

of  the  Knight  blazed  so  high  that  Shakespeare  sought  remge' 
in  London,  where  he  earned  his  livelihood  by  holding  horses 
at  the  doors  of  the  theatres,  until  his  wit  attracted  the  notice 
of  the  actors  and  gained  him  a  position  where  by  degrees  he 
became  a  celebrated  actor  and  author.  We  must  discredit 
one  part  of  the  legend,  inasmuch  as  boats — not  horses- 
furnished  conveyance  across  the  Thames  from  the  city  to  the 
theatres.  But  even  though  the  story  about  the  deer-stealing 
may  ha*e  a  foundation  of  truth,  Shakespeare's  departure 
from  Stratford  and  his  entrance  into  theatrical  life  in  Lon- 
don may  be  explained  in  a  different  and  less  improbable 
manner.  He  was  then  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  had 
been  married  three  years  to  Anne  Hathaway,  a  young 
woman  seven  years  his  senior.*  His  three  children  had 
been  born.  It  was  necessary  to  provide  means  for  the  sup- 
port of  his  family,  and  that,  too,  without  delay;  for  his 
father's  wealth  was  nearly  gone. 

His  Career  as  a  Dramatist.  London  was  the  resort  for 
such  a  needy  adventurer  as  he  in  search  of  fortune  ;  and  the 
theatrical  profession,  with  its  ready  reward  for  the  success- 
ful actor,  was  the  most  advantageous  calling  for  him.  His 
native  taste  for  the  drama  must  have  been  attracted  to  that 
calling  before  this  time,  for  troops  of  actors  had  made 
frequent  visits  to  Stratford;  moreover  the  greatest  tragic 
actor  of  the  day,  Richard  Burbadge,  was  a  Warwickshire 
man,  and  Thomas  Greene,  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
troop  of  the  Royal  Theatre,  then  the  first  theatre  in  Lon- 

*  There  are  several  facts  which  seem  to  indicate  that  the  married  life  of  the  poet 
was  not  brightened  by  love.  Bitter  allusions  to  marriages  like  his  own  occur  in 
his  works ;  during  the  long  period  of  his  residence  in  London,  his  wife  did  not  live 
with  him;  and  in  his  will  he  leaves  her  only  his  "  second-best  bed  with  furniture." 
The  significance  of  the  slighting  bequest  is  diminished  by  the  fact  that,  as  his  prop- 
erty was  chiefly  in  land,  her  legal  right  to  one-third  gave  her  a  large  estate.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  several  most  tenderly  loving  passages  in  his  poems  seem  unin- 
telligible unless  interpreted  as  addressed  to  her.  For  a  discussion  of  the  respective 
Bides  of  this  question  see  White's  Memoirs  of  Shakespeare,  p.  xlix.,  seep,  and  Hud- 
mil's  Life  of  Shakespeare,  p.  19,  seq. 


102  SHAKESPEARE. 

don,  was  a  native  of  Stratford.  And  so,  as  the  companies 
of  actors  were  always  ready  to  enlist  men  of  talent,  it 
happened  that  when  Shakespeare  arrived  in  London  he 
naturally  entered  the  service  of  one  of  those  companies. 
Like  other  young  men  of  that  time,  he  made  himself  useful 
to  his  company  hoth  as  an  actor  and  as  a  re-writer  of  dra- 
matic pieces ;  and  his  early  professional  career  probably 
differed  in  no  respect  from  that  of  Marlowe  and  others,  save 
in  the  industry  and  success  with  which  he  pursued* it,  and 
in  the  prudence  with  which  he  accumulated  wealth.  By 
adapting  old  plays  to  the  demands  of  his  theatre  he  acquired 
that  masterly  knowledge  of  stage-effect,  and  discovered  the 
dramatic  genius,  which  enabled  him  to  write  the  grandest 
dramas  in  the  literature  of  the  world.  His  theatrical  career 
continued  from  1586  until  1611  (?),  a  period  of  twenty-five 
years,  including  his  youth  and  the  dignity  and  glory  of  his 
manhood. 

The  dramatic  company  to  which  Shakespeare  belonged 
was  the  most  respectable  and  the  most  prosperous  of  that 
time.  By  carefully  avoiding  political  allusions  and  by  gain- 
ing the  patronage  of  influential  men,  it  secured  unusual 
freedom  from  the  interference  of  the  authorities  of  the  city. 
In  this  company  Shakespeare  reached  a  high  position.  To 
his  good  sense,  prudence,  and  knowledge  of  the  world  its 
success  may  have  been  due ;  for  no  sooner  had  he  retired 
from  the  theatre  than  repeated  causes  of  complaint  arose, 
and  severe  penalties  were  inflicted  by  the  authorities  upon 
his  former  comrades. 

Shakespeare  quickly  rose  to  such  importance  in  his  pro- 
fession as  to  call  down  upon  him  the  attacks  of  disappointed 
rivals  ;  for,  in  1592,  Greene  makes  bitter  allusion  to  his 
.  accuses  him  of  plagiarism,  and  plainly  shows  that 
envy  dictated  the  attack.  The  scurrilous  pamphlet  con- 
taining this  accusation  was  published  after  Greene's  death, 
and  evidently  provoked  criticism  by  its  meanness.     Chettle, 


SHAKESPEARE.  103 

its  editor,  promptly  published  an  apology,  in  which  he  saya 
of  Shakespeare, — "  I  am  as  sorry  as  if  the  originall  fault  had 
beene  my  fault,  because  myself  have  seene  his  demeanor  no' 
less  civill  than  he  exclent  in  the  quality  he  professes  :  be- 
sides, divers  of  worship  have  reported  his  uprightnes  of 
dealing  which  argues  his  honesty,  and  his  facetious  [felici- 
tous] grace  in  writing  that  approves  his  art." 

That  he  was  acquainted  with  his  art  is  clear  from  the 
inimitable  "directions  to  the  players"  put  into  the  mouth 
of  Hamlet,  which,  in  incredibly  few  words,  contain  its 
whole  system.  There  is  a  tradition  that  tells  of  his  acting 
the  Ghost  in  his  tragedy  of  Hamlet  (81),  the  graceful  and 
touching  character  of  Adam,  the  faithful  old  servant,  in  his 
As  You  Like  It  (72),  the  deeply  pathetic  impersonation  of 
grief  and  despair  in  the  popular  tragedy  of  Hieronymo,  and 
the  sensible  citizen,  Old  Knowell,  in  Ben  Jonson's  Every 
Man  In  His  Humor.  John  Davies,  in  The  Scourge  of  Folly, 
ascribes  to  him  some  excellence  in  the  performance  of  kingly 
characters.  But  the  first  masterly  actor  of  the  great  tragic 
characters,  Richard  III.,  Hamlet,  Othello,  and  the  others, 
was  Shakespeare's  comrade,  Richard  Burbadge. 

Shakespeare's  reputation  grew  apace.  Six  years  after  his 
arrival  in  London,  he  had  won  his  way  to  the  foremost  rank 
of  literary  men.  He  was  already  wielding  influence.  Riches 
were  flowing  into  his  hands.  The  gifted  and  the  noble  ap- 
plauded him,  and  sought  his  society.  The  young  Earl  of 
Southampton  is  said  to  have  expressed  his  admiration  for 
the  worth  and  the  genius  of  the  poet  by  making  him  the 
princely  gift  of  a  thousand  pounds.  Through  succeeding 
years  his  prosperity  continued.  In  1597,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three,  he  purchased  "  New  Place,"  the  finest  house  in 
Stratford,  making  it  a  home  for  his  family,  and  a  refuge  for 
his  parents.*     In  1602  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  seven 

♦It  was  Shakespeare's  ambition  to  gain  the  rank  and  title  of  " gentleman ; n 
and,  therefore,  at  about  the  time  when  he  bought  New  Place  he  solicited  a  coat  of 


104  SHAKESPEARE. 

acres  of  land,  and  at  about  the  same  time  he  invested  four 
hundred  and  forty  pounds  in  the  tithes  of  Stratford.  In 
1611  (?)  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  Globe  Theatre,  left 
London,  and  withdrew  to  the  quietude  of  his  home.  There 
five  years  were  spent  in  a  leisure  that  must  have  been  a 
strange  contrast  to  the  busy,  thronging  cares  that  had  at- 
tended his  professional  life.  An  active  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  his  town,  an  occasional  visit  to  London,  gen- 
erous entertainment  of  his  friends,  and  the  composition  of 
one  or  two  of  his  grandest  dramas,  seem  to  have 
1616.]  occupied  these  years  of  retirement.  He  died  on 
the  23d  of  April,  1616,  probably  on  the  anniversary 
of  his  birthday,  having  just  completed  his  fifty-second  year. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  he  rose  from  a  sick-bed  to  entertain 
Ben  Jonson  and  Drayton,  and  that  he  brought  on  a  relapse 
by  "drinking  too  hard."  He  was  buried  in  the  parish 
church  of  Stratford.  In  the  wall,  above  his  grave,  a  monu- 
ment is  erected,  containing  his  bust.*  This  bust  and  the 
coarse  engraving  by  Droeshout,  prefixed  to  the  first  folio 
edition  of  his  works  published  in  1623,  are  the  most  trust- 
worthy of  his  portraits.  In  eulogistic  verses  Ben  Jonson 
vouches  for  the  faithfulness  of  Droeshoufs  picture 

But  few  relics  of  Shakespeare  still  remain.  The  house 
of  New  Place  has  long  been  destroyed;  but  the  garden  in 
which  it  stood,  and,  in  another  street,  the  house  where  the 
poet  was  born,  are  preserved.  His  will,  whieh  was  made  a 
month  before  his  death,  testifies  to  his  kind  and  alleetionate 


arms  for  his  lather.     Ilis  own  defamed  profession  would  have  been 

the  way  of  bia  securing  the  honor;  bathe  succeeded  In  obtaining  il  for  bis  ftther, 
and  po  gained  it  for  himself  by  inheritance.  He  was  the  lasl  to  beat  the  lanuit 
tiiir;  for  bis  only  son,  Bamnet,  died  when  eleven  j 

*  The  pavement  over  his  grave  bears  the  following  startling  Inscription] 
"  Good  Mend,  for  [esvs  sain  tori*  i 
To  digg  the  dvst.  eucloMed  heare: 

Meats  he  \v.  man  yi  spares  thes  .-tours, 
And  cvrst  be  he  yt  moves  my  bone*.1' 


SHAKESPEARE.  105 

disposition.  To  each  of  his  old  comrades  and  "fellows"  he 
leaves  some  token  of  regard,  generally  "  twenty-six  shillings 
and  eight  pence  apiece,  to  buy  them  rings.''  The  three 
autographs  attached  to  this  document,  and  one  or  two  more, 
are  the  only  specimens  of  his  writing  that  have  been  pre- 
served.* 

Early  Non-Dramatic  Poems.  Shakespeare's  first  original 
poems  were  not  dramatic.  He  was  the  creator  of  a  peculiar 
species  of  narrative  composition,  which  achieved  an  immedi- 
ate and  immense  popularity.  Venus  and  Adonis,  which,  in 
his  dedication  to  Lord  Southampton,  he  calls  "  the  first  heir 
of  his  invention,"  was  published  in  1593.  It  is  probable 
that  this  poem — exhibiting  all  the  luxuriant  sweetness,  the 
voluptuous  tenderness,  of  a  youthful  genius — was  conceived, 
if  not  composed,  at  Stratford.  It  was  re-issued  in  five  several 
editions  between  the  years  1593  and  1602  ;  while  the  Rape 
of  Lucrece,  during  nearly  the  same  time,  appeared  in  three. 
When  he  abandoned  the  adaptation  of  old  plays  for  original 
dramatic  composition,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  ascertain ;  for 
some  of  the  works  which  bear  the  strongest  impress  of  his 
genius  were  undoubtedly  based  upon  earlier  productions.  As 
examples  of  this  may  be  mentioned  Hamlet  (81,  82),  Henry 
V.,  and  King  John  (77). 

Classification  of  His  Plays.  There  are  internal  evidences 
which  distinguish  his  earlier  and  his  later  plays,  but  nothing 
from  which  a  chronological  list  could  be  made.  To  obtain 
such  a  list,  many  acute  investigators  have  exercised  their  in- 
genuity, and  have  found  startling  discrepancies  in  their 
results.     No  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  order  of  the 

*  "  The  manner  in  which  the  name  is  spelled  in  the  old  record*  varies  almost  to 
the  extreme  capacity  of  various  letters  to  produce  a  sound  approximating  to  that 
of  the  name  as  we  pronounce  it But  Shakespeare  himself,  and  his  care- 
ful friend  Ben  Jon^on,  when  they  printed  the  name,  spelled  it  Shakespeare,  the 
hyphen  being  often  used;  and  in  this  form  it  is  found  in  almost  every  book  of  their 
time  in  which  it  appeared.1'—  White's  Memoirs  of  William  Shakespeare,  p.  iv.,  note 


106  SHAKESPEARE. 

pieces  given  in  the  first  edition — the  folio  published  in  1623 
by  Heminge  and  C'ondell,  Shakespeare's  friends.  The  most 
superficial  examination  is  sufficient  to  prove  that,  in  spite 
of  the  assurances  of  the  editors  as  to  its  having  been  based 
upon  the  "  papers"  of  their  colleague,  this  publication  must 
be  regarded  as  little  better  than  a  hasty  speculation,  entered 
into  for  the  sake  of  profit  and  without  much  regard  to  the 
literary  reputation  of  the  great  poet.  And  though  the  sys- 
tem of  grouping  plays  as  Tragedies,  Comedies,  and  Histories, 
has  at  all  events  the  advantage  of  clearness,  and  is  that  upon 
which  most  editions  of  the  dramas  are  based,  it  also  is  open 
to  objection.  Some  of  the  pieces  indeed  (such  as  Othello, 
King  Lear,  Hamlet),  are  distinctly  tragedies,  and  others  (As 
You  Like  ft  [72]  or  Twelfth  Night)  are  as  decidedly 
comedies;  but  many  more  might,  from  their  tone  and 
incidents,  be  ranged  under  either  head.  Indeed,  in  all  the 
tragic  and  comic  elements  are  more  or  less  intermixed,  and 
it  is  this  blending  of  the  two  in  the  same  piece  which  con- 
stitutes the  distinguishing  trait  of  the  English  drama  in  the 
Shakespearean  age,  and  gives  it  superiority  over  the  national 
drama  of  every  other  country. 

For  us,  the  most  useful  mode  of  classification  is  based 
upon  the  sources  from  which  Shakespeare  drew  the  ma- 
terials for  his  dramas.  Those  sources  are  historical  and 
fictitious.  The  historical  plays  depict  events  of  recent  reigns 
in  England.  Holinshed's  Chronicles  furnished  much  of  the 
material  for  them,  beginning  with  King  John  (77),  and 
ending  with  Henry  VIII.  (79,  80).  They  are  grand  pano- 
ramas of  national  glory  or  national  distress.  Ixichard  II., 
Richard  III  (78),  the  two  unequaled  dramas  on  the  reign  of 
Henry  IV.  ami  I  hat  chant  of  patriotic  triumph,  II<  unj  V., 
illustrate  his  power  in  representing  epochs  in  the  history  of 
his  nation.  Shakespeare,  though  not  (he  inventor,  was  the 
most  prolific  author,  of  such  historical  dramas. 

In  addition  to  the  plays  founded  on  authentic  facts  of 


SHAKESPEARE.  IOC 

history,  he  wrote  many  which  had  a  semi-historical  char- 
acter, and  drew  their  stories  from  the  legends  of  various 
countries ;  thus  Hamlet  was  taken  from  a  Danish  chronicler ; 
Macbeth,  Lear  and  Gymbeline  refer  to  more  or  less  fabulous 
legends  of  Scottish  and  British  history ;  while  Coriolanus, 
Julius  Catsar  and  Antony  and  Cleopatra  are  derived  from 
ancient  Roman  annals. 

Nineteen  of  his  dramas  are  based  upon  fiction.  Of  these 
a  large  majority  can  be  traced  to  the  Italian  novelists  and 
their  imitators,  who  supplied  the  light  literature  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  The  short  tales  of  those  writers  were  m>st 
singularly  adapted  to  furnish  an  appropriate  groundwork 
for  the  poet's  delineations  of  humor  or  pathos.  They  de- 
pended for  their  popularity  upon  amusing  and  surprising 
incidents. 

From  the  classification  given  on  the  next  page  it  will  be 
seen  that  many  of  these  plays  were  based  upon  preceding  dra- 
matic works.  A  few  of  the  more  ancient  pieces  themselves 
are  preserved,  exhibiting  different  degrees  of  imperfection 
and  barbarism.  In  one  or  two  cases  we  have  more  than  one 
edition  of  the  same  play  in  its  different  stages  towards  com- 
plete perfection  under  the  hand  of  Shakespeare.  Hamlet 
is  the  most  notable  instance.  Some  of  these  thirty-seven 
plays  show  evicknt  marks  of  an  inferior  hand.  The  three 
parts  of  Henry  VI.  were  in  all  probability  older  dramas, 
retouched  here  and  there  with  Shakespeare's  inimitable 
strokes  of  nature  and  poetic  fancy.  So,  too,  the  last  of  the 
English  historical  plays,  Henry  VIII. ,  bears  distinct  traces 
of  having  been  in  part  composed  by  a  different  author;  in 
the  diction,  the  turn  of  thought,  and  in  the  peculiar  struc- 
ture of  the  verse,  there  are  indications  that  in  its  composi- 
tion Shakespeare  was  associated  with  another  poet.  Such 
literary  partnership  was  in  vogue  in  that  age. 

On  reading  Shakespeare's  historical  dramas,  the  first  im- 
pression is  of  the  amazing  apprehension  and  ready  delinea* 


108 


SHAKESPEARE'S     PLAYS. 


A  Classification  of  Shakespeare's  Plays,  the  Probable  Dates  of  their  Composition? 

and  the  Sources  whence  the  Materials  were  Derived, 

l.-HISTORICAL. 


Henry  VI.,  Part  I ) 

"       "         "    II •     [ 

"       M         "    HI \ 

Richard  II 

111.(78) 

King  John  (77) 

Henry  IV.,  Part  I ( 

"        "         *    II < 

Henry  V f 

Henry  Vin(79,  80) 


«  °  L 


SOURCES  FROM  WHICH  MATERIALS 
DERIVED. 


Old  play,  entitled  The  Contention  between 
the  Famous  Hon  res  of  York  and  Lan- 
caster;   and    the    True    Tragedy  of 
Richard,  Duke  of  York. 
olinshcdV  Chronicles 
The  Chronicler  of  Hall  and  of  Holinshed. 
An  older  play. 

j  An  older  play,  entitled  The  Famous  Vic- 
|     tories  of  King  Henry  V. 
j  The  Chronicles  of  Hall  and  of  Holinshed, 
I     and  Fox's  Book  of  Martyi-s. 


II. -SEMI-HISTORICAL,  OR  LEGENDARY. 


Titus  Andronicus 

Hamlet  (81,  82) 

1587-9 

1600 

1605 

1605 

1606-8 

1606-8 

1609-11 

1609-11 

Probably  an  older  play. 

j  The   Chronicle    of    Saxo-Grammaticus, 

j     and  an  older  play. 

Holinshed  and  older  plays. 

Macbkth  (84,  85)... 

Julius  Cesar  (83) \ 

Antony  and  Cleopatra \ 

Coriolanus ) 

North's  Translation  of  Plutarch's  Lives. 

Cymbeline 

III. -FICTITIOUS. 


Lovk's  Labour  's  Lost  

Comedy  of  Kkroks 

Two  GnmjUU  OF  Verona 
A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream 

(75,  76,  87) 

The  Merchant  of  Venice  (74) 

Romeo  and  JtJUBT   

Mi,  ii  Ado  ABOUT  Nothing 

Twixkth-Niuht 

A-  Vou  Lou  It  (72,  73) 

The  Taming  of  the  Shrew.  . . 
Pericles 

IfjBUR  Wives  of  Windsor .. . 
Measure  for  Measure  

All's  Well  that  Ends  \\  nx 

Timon  ok  Athens 

Troilus  and  Ckehsida 

Othello  

The  Winter's  Tale 

The  Tempest  (86) 


1588-9 

me 

1589-90 

1594 
1594 
1596 

I.V.N -<.l 

ten 

1599 
16(H 

1602 

1603 
1603-4 

1604 
1605-7 

1606-8 
1609-11 
1611 


Unknown  ;  probably  of  French  origin. 
'I'lir  Mmachmi  of  Plautus. 
Unknown. 


//  Pecorone,  an  Italian  tale. 

I':i\  ntrrs  Pa'ar,  of  Measure. 

An  Italian  novel.  " 

An  Italian  novel,  by  Bandello. 

Lodge's  Bosalynd*. 

An  older  phi  v. 

i  Qower't    Cbnfmia    Arnaults,  and    Th* 

)      Patient  of  Painfull   \:tnu  hires. 

unknown. 

I'intiiio's  HkatomUki. 

Paynter's  Fatoa  of  ffnororw,  translated 
from  Booooeto. 

PI  ii  tan  li.    Lneian,  and    The  Palace  of 
lit  turn >. 

Chancer  and  Onxton'i  RecuyeU  of  the 
i     History*!  of  I'm,/. 
Cinthio'a  BtcatomiOA, 
QreeneV  touutoeto;  Tfu  Triumph  qj 

lnkiiown. 


*  According  to  Richard  Grant  White. 


SHAKESPEARE.  109 

tion  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  age  and  country  which  the 
poet  reproduces.  He  gave  reality  to  every  character  in  the 
play.  From  the  most  prominent  down  to  the  most  obscure* 
each  one  has  a  distinct  individuality, — true  at  the  same 
time  to  that  individuality,  to  his  nation,  and  to  the  universal 
man.  There  may  be,  here  and  there,  anachronisms,  but 
they  never  affect  the  truthfulness  of  the  poet's  representa- 
tion of  human  nature. 

His  Comprehension  of  Nature.  Even  the  influence  of 
climate  is  not  forgotten  in  his  creations.  Take  the  charac- 
ters of  Ophelia  and  Juliet  as  types  of  the  woman  of  the 
North  and  the  woman  of  the  South.  Both  are  in  love.  As 
you  read  through  the  pages  in  which  Ophelia  lives,  you  find 
yourself  communing  with  a  woman  whose  sincerity  and 
constancy  and  depth  of  soul,  you  recognize  and  admire. 
She  speaks  few  words  and  they  are  very  quietly  spoken. 
When  she  discovers  that  her  love  is  reciprocated,  though  she 
is  chary  of  her  words,  you  detect  her  delight.  Then  her 
trials  come.  Her  lover  is  separated  from  her.  Her  cruel 
fortune  is  patiently  borne  until  her  reason  is  dethroned. 
Then,  even  in  her  insanity,  her  nature  is  true  to  its  clime. 
Still  there  is  reserve.  Her  grief  finds  little  utterance  in 
words,  but  sings  itself  to  rest  in  snatches  of  song.  Her 
emotional  nature  is  under  control.  Her  anxiety,  her  joy, 
her  grief,  are  alike  subdued  by  the  reserve  that  is  natural  to 
the  Northern  temperament. 

Juliet  stands  in  striking  contrast.  No  calm  exterior  hides 
her  impulsive  spirit.  Her  love  comes  suddenly  to  its  full 
expression.  Her  womanliness  appears  in  emotions  that  are 
profound,  though  easily  moved;  in  a  constancy  of  love, 
though  that  love  would  seem  to  expend  itself  in  demonstra- 
tion. Her  womanliness  is  as  pure  as  Ophelia's.  She  is 
6imply  true  to  ifre  impulsive  nature  of  the  Southerner. 

His  Delineation  of  Character.     His  mode  of  delineating 


110  SHAKESPEARE. 

passion  is  unique.  Others  fall  more  or  less  into  the  error 
of  making  their  personages  mere  embodiments  of  moral 
qualities, — of  ambition,  of  avarice,  of  hypocrisy.  They 
accumulate  in  their  creations  only  kindred  characteristics. 
Shakespeare  never  forgets  the  infinite  complexity  of  human 
nature.  As  Macaulay  justly  observes,  the  primary  charac- 
teristic of  Shylock  is  revengefulness ;  but  a  closer  insight 
discloses  a  thousand  other  qualities,  whose  mutual  play  and 
varying  intensity  go  to  compose  the  complex  being  that 
Shakespeare  has  drawn  in  the  terrible  Jew.  Othello  is  no 
mere  impersonation  of  jealousy,  nor  Macbeth  of  ambition, 
nor  Falstaffof  selfish  gayety,  nor  Timon  of  misanthropy, 
nor  Imogen  of  wifely  love :  in  each  of  these  personages,  the 
more  closely  we  analyze  them,  the  deeper  and  more  multi- 
form will  appear  the  springs  of  action  which  make  up  their 
personality.  To  this  wonderful  power  of  conceiving  complex 
character  may  be  attributed  another  distinguishing  peculiar- 
ity of  our  poet,  namely,  the  total  absence  from  his  works  of 
any  tendency  to  egotism.  From  his  dramas  we  learn  nothing 
whatever  of  his  own  sympathies  and  tendencies.  He  is 
absolutely  impersonal,  or  rather  he  is  all  persons  in  turn ; 
for  no  poet  ever  possessed  to  a  like  degree  the  power  of  suc- 
cessively identifying  himself  with  a  multitude  of  the  most 
diverse  individualities,  and  of  identifying  himself  so  com- 
pletely that  we  cannot  detect  a  trace  of  preference.  Shake- 
speare, when  he  has  once  thrown  off  such  a  character  as 
Othello,  never  recurs  to  it  again.  Othello  disappears  from 
the  stage  as  completely  as  a  real  Othello  would  disappear 
from  the  world,  and  leaves  behind  him  no  similar  person- 
age. He  has  given  us  other  pictures  of  jealous  men, — 
Leontes,  Ford,  Posthumus  ;  but  how  differently  is  the 
passion  manifested  in  each  of  these !  In  the  characters  of 
women,  too,  what  a  wonderful  range,  what  inexhaustible 
variety !  *    In  no  class  of  his  impersonations  are  the  depth, 

*  "  It  would  be  very  gratifying,  no  doubt,  perhaps  WJ  in  !  root!  >  e  also,  to  be  let 
into  the  domestic  life  and  character  of  the  port's  mother.   That  both  her  nature  and 


SHAKESPEARE.  Ill 

the  delicacy,  and  the  extent  of  Shakespeare's  creative  power 
more  visible  than  in  his  women ;  and  this  is  all  the  more 
wonderful  when  we  remember  that  in  drawing  these  varied 
types  of  character,  he  knew  that  they  would  be  intrusted  in 
representation  to  boys  or  young  men — English  women  not 
appearing  on  the  stage  before  1661,  long  after  the  age 
which  witnessed  such  creations  as  Ophelia,  Lady  Macbeth, 
Rosalind,  and  Juliet.  The  author  must  have  felt  what  he  so 
powerfully  expressed  in  the  language  of  his  own  Cleopatra: 

"  The  quick  comedians 
Extemporary  shall  stage  us  :  Antony 
Shall  be  brought  drunken  forth,  and  I  shall  see 
Some  squeaking  Cleopatra  boy  my  greatness." 

These  Shakespearean  characters — men  or  women — do  not 
appear  as  pictures  on  the  page  of  a  book.  We  come  to  know 
them,  not  from  descriptions  of  them,  but  by  actual  inter- 
course with  them.  They  live.  They  talk  in  our  presence ; 
— some  of  them  rude,  grotesque,  eccentric ;  some  of  them 
grand  and  energetic  ;  some  of  them  in  the  various  phases  of 
insanity;  but  all  of  them  real.  This  is  Shakespeare's 
miraculous  power,  that  he  makes  realities  out  of  that  which 
others  make  into  pictures  or  dreams.  We  have  been  in  the 
Roman  Senate  and  have  seen  Julius  Csesar  bleed  away  his 
life.  King  Lear  is  not  a  man  about  whom  we  have  simply 
read.  He  is  a  man  whom  we  have  seen,  whose  folly  has 
disgusted  us,  whose  rage  has  startled  us,  whose  despair  has 
stirred  the  depths  of  our  pity. 

In  the  expression  of  strong  emotion,  as  well  as  in  the 
delineation  of  character,  Shakespeare  is  superior  to  all  other 


her  discipline  entered  largely  into  his  composition,  and  had  much  to  do  in  making  him 
what  he  was,  can  hardly  be  questioned,  Whatsoever  of  woman's  beauty  and  sweet- 
ness and  wisdom  was  expressed  in  her  life  and  manners  could  not  but  be  caught 
and  repeated  in  his  susceptive  and  fertile  mind.  He  must  have  grown  familiar 
with  the  noblest  parts  of  womanhood  somewhere ;  and  I  can  scarce  conceive  how  he- 
should  have  learned  them  so  well,  but  that  the  light  and  glory  of  them  beamed 
upon  him  from  his  mother."— Hudson's  Life  of  Shakespeare,  p.  14. 


212  SHAKESPEARE. 

poets.  He  never  produces  the  effect  he  desires  by  violent 
rhetoric,  or  by  unnatural  combinations  of  qualities.  He 
instructs  and  interests  us  by  exhibiting  passions  and  feelings 
as  we  see  them  in  the  world.  He  draws  illustrations  from 
simple  and  familiar  objects.  Sometimes  his  natural  fond- 
ness for  making  subtile  distinctions,  sometimes  his  passion 
for  punning,  does  violence  to  our  notions  of  good  taste;  but 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  such  mannerism  was  the 
literary  vice  of  his  day.  These  defects  disappear  in  the  mo- 
ments of  his  earnestness. 

His  Plots  Borrowed.  In  no  instance  has  Shakespeare 
taken  the  trouble  of  inventing  a  plot  for  himself.  Appro- 
priating without  hesitation  materials  already  prepared,  he 
directed  all  his  energies  to  that  department  in  which  he 
shines  unrivaled, — the  portrayal  of  human  nature  and 
human  passion.  We  are  not,  however,  to  infer  that  the 
poet  necessarily  consulted  the  tales  and  dramas  in  the 
original  tongues.  A  careful  examination  of  his  works 
seems  to  prove  that  he  has  rarely  made  use  of  any  ancient 
or  foreign  literature  not  then  existing  in  English  transla- 
tions ;  a  fact  which  lends  some  corroboration  to  the  well 
known  statement  of  Ben  Jonson  that  he  had  "  small  Latin 
and  less  Greek." 

His  Metaphorical  Style.  His  style  is  often  criticised  for 
its  obscurity.  It  is  the  profundity  of  his  thinking  and  the 
reach  of  his  imagination  which  make  him  subject  to  that 
criticism.  He  often  thinks  in  metaphors;  ami  we  have  CO 
discern  the  figure  clearly,  before  we  can  apprehend  his 
thought.  The  same  quality  of  style  will  be  noticed  in 
Bacon;  for  he,  too,  does  his  severest  thinking  in  boldest 
metaphors.  This  habit  is  characteristic  of  the  poetic  mind. 
It  is  simply  the  power  of  condensing  much  thought  into 
brief  expression.  It  is  because  lie  has  that  power  pre- 
eminently, that  Shakespeare  is  quoted  more  frequently  than 
any  other  English  writer. 


SHAKESPEARE.  113 

His  Influence  in  the  History  of  our  Language.    It  is 

noticeable  that  he  left  no  impress  upon  the  political  life 
of  his  nation.  But  upon  the  spirit  of  social  sympathy, 
upon  the  spirit  of  historical  inquiry,  and,  most  of  all,  upon 
the  history  of  his  language,  his  influence  was  powerful  and 
has  been  lasting.     To  him,  more  than  to  any  other  man 

since  Chaucer,  the  English  language  is  indebted. 
1611.]     The  common  version  of  the  Bible,  made  in  1611, 

and  the  writings  of  Shakespeare,  have  been  the 
conservators  of  English  speech.  The  general  reading  of  two 
books  that  are  models  of  simplicity,  of  sincerity  in  expres- 
sion, and  of  discrimination  in  the  choice  of  words,  has  given 
to  the  millions  of  the  English  speaking  race  a  rich  and  con- 
stant vocabulary.  It  was  nearly  three  centuries  ago  that 
Shakespeare  wrote,  yet  we  read  him  to-day  to  find  that, 
while  he  made  the  language  of  his  predecessors  obsolete,  his 
vocabulary  *  has  withstood  the  assaults  of  time,  and  is  still 
fresh  and  vigorous. 

Of  his  plays,  fifteen  were  printed  during  his  lifetime, 
probably  without  his  sanction.  He  was  careless  of  the  fate 
of  his  works,  leaving  them  to  the  mercy  of  speculating  pub- 
lishers. This  indifference  to  the  preservation  of  his  most 
famous  writing,  his  early  abandonment  of  the  stage,  and 
some  allusions  in  his  sonnets,  give  much  reason  for  thinking 
that  he  was  not  well  pleased  with  his  calling.  The  first 
edition  of  his  plays,  a  folio  edited  by  his  former  comrades, 
Heminge  and  Con  dell,  appeared  in  1623.  A  second  edition 
followed  in  1632,  and  a  third  in  1663.  Another  folio  in 
1685  supplied  the  demands  of  his  English  readers,  until 
Nicholas  Eowe  published  the  first  critical  edition  in  1709. 

*  "  An  examination  of  the  vocabulary  of  Shakespeare  will  show  that  ont  of  the 
fifteen  thousand  words  which  compose  it,  not  more  than  five  or  six  hundred  have 
gone  out  of  currency  or  changed  their  meaning,  and  of  these,  some  no  doubt  are- 
misprints,  some  borrowed  from  obscure  provincial  sources,  and  some,  words  for 
which  there  is  no  other  authority,  and  which  probably  never  were  recognized  as 
lunL:iish.,,— Marsh's  Lectures  on  the  English  Language,  p.  264. 


114  SHAKERPRARH. 

His  Sonnets.  The  sonnets  of  Shakespeare  (88)  possess  a 
peculiar  interest,  not  only  from  their  intrinsic  beauty,  but 
also  from  the  fact  that  they  contain  allusions  to  the  per- 
sonal feelings  of  their  author, — allusions  which  point  to  some 
deep  disappointment  in  love  and  friendship.  They  were 
first  printed  in  1609,  though,  from  references  found  in  con- 
temporary writings,  it  is  clear  that  many  of  them  had  been 
composed  previously.  They  are  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
in  number.  Some  of  them  are  evidently  addressed  to  a 
man,  while  others  are  as  plainly  intended  for  a  woman. 
Through  all  of  them  there  Hows  a  current  of  sadness,  dis- 
content, and  wounded  affection,  which  bears  every  mark  of 
being  the  expression  of  a  real  sentiment.  No  clew,  how- 
ever, has  as  yet  been  discovered  by  which  we  may  hope  to 
trace  the  persons  to  whom  these  poems  are  addressed,  or 
the  painful  events  to  which  they  allude.  Had  his  dramatic 
works  been  unwritten,  these  sonnets,  together  with  his  early 
amatory  poems,  would  have  given  him  rank  among  the  most 
brilliant  poets  of  his  age ;  but  the  superior  glory  of  his 
dramas  overshadows  the  minor  works. 

Shakespeare's  writings  are  often  censured  on  account  oi 
their  obscenity.  With  but  one  or  two  exceptions  his  plays, 
as  they  are  placed  upon  the  modern  stage,  are  much  ex- 
purgated. The  apology  for  this  defect  is  plain  and  satis- 
factory. He  was  writing  at  a  time  when,  in  every  circle  of 
society,  there  was  license  in  language.  What  is  to  us 
shockingly  obscene  in  many  of  his  passages,  was  no  trans- 
gression of  propriety  in  his  day.  In  this  very  particular  lie 
is  remarkably  pure  in  comparison  with  his  contemporary 
dramatists.  That  he  could  not  have  been  grossly  indelicate 
is  evident  to  all  who  appreciate  the  tenderness  with  which 
he  guards  purity  in  his  impersonations. 

The  works  which  he  has  left  show  such  stores  of  knowl- 
edge, such  powers  of  discrimination.  BUoh  resources  of  wit, 
such  pathos,  such  exhaustlessness  of  language,  such  scope 


SHAKESPEARE.  115 

of  imagination,  as  can  be  found  in  no  other  English  poet. 
Moreover,  he  seems  to  have  been  a  symmetrical  man.  The 
fact  that,  working  in  a  defamed  profession,  he  commanded 
respect ;  the  fact  that,  being  the  most  eminent  of  poets,  he 
was  at  the  same  time  successful  in  practical  affairs;  and  the 
fact  that,  out  of  the  resources  of  his  mind,  he  has  drawn 
every  phase  of  humanity,  indicate  his  own  completeness  and 
balance  of  character. 


In  the  large  library  of  volumes  which  discuss  the  life  and  the  literature  of 
Shakespeare,  the  following  works  and  brief  papers  will  be  of  special  interest  to  the 
student  who  is  beginning  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  dramatist :— The  first  volume 
of  White's  edition  of  Shakespeare,  Hudson's  Shakespeare's  Life,  Art,  and  Charac- 
ters, Whipple's  essay  on  The  Literature  of  the  Age  of  Elizabeth,  Taine's  English 
Literature,  Vol.  I.,  p.  296,  seq.,  Reed's  British  Poets,  Vol.  I.,  Lecture  V.,  De  Quincey's 
Works,  Vol.  H.,  Coleridge's  Works,  Vol.  IV.,  Giles's  Human  Life  in  Shakespeare, 
J.  R.  Lowell's  essay  Among  My  Books.  Separate  plays  of  Shakespeare  edited  by 
H.  N.  Hudson,  or  those  edited  by  W.  J.  Rolfe  should  be  used  by  the  student. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

William  Shakespeare. 

1.  His  Career  as  a  Dramatist. 

2.  His  Early  Non-Dramatic  Poems* 

3.  Classification  of  His  Plays, 

4.  His  Comprehension  of  Nature. 

5.  His  Delineation  of  Character. 

6.  The  Origin  of  His  Plots. 

7.  His  Metaphorical  Style. 

8.  His  Influence  in  the  History  of  our  Language. 

9.  His  Sonnets. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SHAKESPEAREAN    DRAMATISTS. 

THE  age  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.  produced  a  galaxy  of  great 
dramatic  poets.  In  the  general  style  of  their  writings  they 
bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  Shakespeare ;  and,  indeed,  many  of 
the  peculiar  merits  of  their  great  prototype  may  be  discovered  in 
his  contemporaries.  Intensity  of  pathos  hardly  less  touching  than 
that  of  Shakespeare,  may  be  found  in  the  dramas  of  Ford ;  gallant 
animation  and  dignity  in  the  dialogues  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher ; 
deep  emotion  in  the  sombre  scenes  of  Webster ;  noble  moral  eleva- 
tion in  the  graceful  plays  of  Massinger ;  but  in  Shakespeare,  and 
only  in  Shakespeare,  do  we  see  the  union  of  the  most  opposite 
qualities  of  the  poet,  the  observer,  and  the  philosopher. 

BEN  JONSON. 

"  He  did  a  little  too  much  Romanize  our  tongue."— John  Dryden. 

"  Jonson  possessed  all  the  learning  that  was  wanting  to  Shakespeare,  and 
wanted  all  the  genius  which  the  other  possessed."— David  Hume. 

"  Then  Jonson  came,  instructed  from  the  school, 
To  please  in  method,  and  invent  by  rule ; 
His  studious  patience  and  laborious  art 
By  regular  approach  essay'd  the  heart."— Samuel  Johnson. 

"  Many  were  the  wit-combats  betwixt  him  [Shakespeare!  and  Ben  Jonson  ; 
which  two  I  behold  like  a  Spanish  great  galleon  and  an  English  man-of-war ; 
Master  Jonson,  like  the  former,  was  bnlll  far  higher  in  learning  ;  solid,  but  slow  in 
his  performances.  Shakespeare,  with  the  English  man-of-war,  lesser  in  hulk  but 
lighter  in  sailing,  could  turn  with  all  tides,  (nek  about,  and  take  advantage  of  til 
winds  by  the  quickness  of  his  wit  and  invention."—  Thomas  Fuller,  1662. 

M  I  was  yesterday  invited  to  a  solemn  supper  by  Ben  Jonson,  where  there  was 
good  company,  excellent  cheer,  choice  wines,  and  jovial  welcome.  One  thing  inter- 
vened which  almost  spoilt  the  relish  for  the  rest— that  Ben  betran  to  engross  all  the 
discourse ;   to  vapour  extremely  of  himself ;  and  by  vilifying  others  to  magnify 


BEN"     JONSON.  117 

his  own  name.  T.  Ca.  [Thomas  Carew]  buzzed  me  in  the  ear,  that  Ben  had 
barrelled  up  a  great  deal  of  knowledge,  yet  it  seems  he  had  not  read  the  ethics, 
which,  amongst  other  precepts  of  morality,  forbid  self-commendations,  declaring  it 
to  be  an  ill-favored  solecism  in  good  manners. ''''—James  Howell,  1636. 


B.  1573.]  The  name  which  stands  next  to  that  of  Shakespe&ie 
D.  1637.]  in  this  list  is  that  of  Ben  Jonson,  (89,  90).  Although 
compelled  by  his  step-father  to  follow  the  trade  of  a 
bricklayer,  he  succeeded  in  making  himself  one  of  the  most  learned 
men  of  the  age.*  After  a  short  service  as  a  soldier  in  the  Low 
Countries,  where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  courage  in  the 
field,  he  began  his  theatrical  career  at  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
when  we  find  him  attached  as  an  actor  to  one  of  the  minor  theatres, 
called  the  Curtain.  His  success  as  a  performer  is  said  to  have  been 
very  small ;  probably  on  account  of  his  unattractiveness  of  person. 
Having  killed  a  tellow-actor  in  a  duel,  while  still  a  young  man,  he 
was  (to  use  his  own  words)  "  brought  near  the  gallows."  While 
in  prison  awaiting  his  trial,  he  was  converted  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith ;  but  twelve  years  afterwards  he  returned  to  the  Protestant 
Church. 

Jonson,  like  Shakespeare,  probably  began  his  dramatic  work  by 
recasting  old  plays.  His  first  original  piece,  the  comedy  Every 
Man  in  His  Humor,  is  assigned  to  the  year  1596.  As  first  repre- 
sented it  was  a  failure,  and  Shakespeare,  then  at  the  height  of  his 
popularity,  is  said  to  have  interested  himself  in  behalf  of  the  young 
aspirant,  suggesting  changes  in  the  play,  securing  its  acceptance  by 
the  managers  of  the  Globe,  and  himself  taking  a  prominent  part, 
when,  two  years  later,  it  was  brought  out  with  triumphant  success. 
Thus,  probably,  was  laid  the  foundation  of  that  sincere  and  endur- 
ing attachment  between  the  two  poets,  which  is  commemorated  by 
many  pleasant  anecdotes  of  their  genial  social  intercourse,  as  well  as 
by  that  enthusiastic  eulogy  in  which  Jonson  has  honored  the  genius 
of  his  friend.     Jonson's  literary  reputation  was  established  by  this 


*  The  story  is  told  of  Jonson  that  his  fondness  for  study  tempted  him  to  carry 
books  in  his  pocket  while  working  at  his  trade,  in  order  that  he  might  improve 
leisure  moments  by  refreshing  his  memory  upon  his  favorite  passages  in  classical 
authors,  and  that  one  day,  while  working  on  the  scaffolding  of  a  building  at  Lin- 
coln's Inn.  a  lawyer  heard  him  recite  a  passage  of  Homer  with  surprising  appre- 
ciation, was  attracted  to  him,  and,  upon  discovering  his  thirst  for  learning,  gave 
him  opportunities  for  renewing  his  studies  at  the  University  of  Cambridge. 


118  BEN     JON  SON. 

fortunate  reproduction  of  his  comedy.  Henceforward,  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  though  the  success  of  individual  playg 
may  have  fluctuated,  be  held  rank  as  the  most  prominent  figure  in 
the  literary  society  of  the  day. 

Jonsou's  prosperity  and  intellectual  power  reached  their  cul- 
mination between  1603  and  1616.  In  the  former  year  The  FaU  of 
Sejanus,  a  tragedy,  appeared,  followed  in  rapid  succession  by  some 
of  his  finest  works, —  Volpone,  Epicene,  The  Alchy mint,  and  Catiline. 
He  was  frequently  employed  by  the  Court  in  arranging  those 
splendid  and  fantastic  entertainments  called  ?nasques,  in  which  he 
exhibited  his  stores  of  invention  and  all  the  resources  of  his  pro- 
found and  elegant  scholarship.  In  1616  he  received  the  office  of 
Laureate,  with  an  annual  pension  of  one  hundred" marks;  and 
though  writing  little  between  1616  and  1625,  his  fortunes  suffered 
no  material  abatement  until  the  death  of  James  I.,  in  1625.  Dis^ 
appointment,  poverty,  ill-health,  and  too  great  fondness  for  suck, 
combined  their  forces  to  break  down  the  veteran.  Many  of  his 
later  plays  were  unsuccessful;  and  in  one  of  them,  The  Nctr  Inn, 
acted  in  1630,  he  complains  bitterly  of  the  hostility  and  bad  taste 
of  his  audience.  He  died  in  1637,  and  was  buried  in  an  upright 
posture  in  the  Poet's  Corner  of  Westminster  Abbey.  Above  his 
grave  a  plain  stone  bears  the  laconic  inscription,  "  O  rare  Ben 
Johnson."* 

Jonson's  Dramatic  Works.  His  dramatic  works  are  of  various 
degrees  of  merit,  ranging  from  an  excellence  unsurpassed  by  any 
contemporary  except  Shakespeare,  to  the  lowest  point  of  laborious 
mediocrity.  lie  seems  to  have  won  his  high  place  among  the 
writers  of  the  Elizabethan  era,  not  so  much  by  virtue  of  creative 
imagination,  or  by  any  strictly  poetic  faculties,  as  by  weight  and 
breadth  of  understanding,  quickness  of  fancy,  power  of  analysis, 
and  preternatural  keenness  of  observation.  Thorough  and  extm- 
si\e  study  strengthened  these  native  qualities,  hut  could  not  supply 
the  deficiencies.  His  tragedies,  The  FaU t(f  Sqjamu  and  OatiMnei 
Conspiracy,  display  the  richea  of  a  profound  ami  learned  intellect 
They  reproduce  the  details  of  Roman  manners,  religion  and  senti- 


*  In  that  inscription  hiB  name  id  spelled  "  JoAuhou."    The  cominou  spelling  ia 
*Jouson." 


BEN     JONSON,  119 

ment,  with  minute  fidelity,  and  contain  passages  of  wonderful 
force.  But  as  wholes,  they  are  stiff  and  lifeless,  lacking  that  spirit 
of  reality  through  which  Shakespeare  could  "transform  a  series  of 
incidents  into  a  succession  of  events."  It  is  mechanical,  not  vital 
energy  with  which  Jonson  has  endowed  his  creations.  Nor  is  it 
strange  that  there  was  this  difference  between  these  two  dramatists, 
Shakespeare  disregarded  the  traditional  laws  of  dramatic  poetry 
and  wrote  with  unfettered  hand.  Free  from  restraint,  his  English 
nature  expressed  itself  in  a  drama  that  was  true  to  the  spirit  of  his 
age  and  his  nation.  His  plays,  therefore,  have  what  we  call  reality. 
Jonson,  as  we  have  said,  was  a  profound  classical  scholar.  He  was 
an  enraptured  admirer  of  the  great  works  of  the  classic  drama. 
The  laws  by  which  Greek  dramatists  had  attained  their  success 
were  to  him  the  essential  laws  of  a  true  drama ;  and  as  a  student 
of  dramatic  art  and  a  dramatist,  he  must  obey  those  laws.  By 
so  much  as  he  violated  them,  he  was  false  to  his  profession.  As  a 
proof  of  his  earnestness  in  holding  this  opinion,  read  his  prologue 
to  Every  Man  in  His  Rumor.  In  his  attempt  to  be  loyal  to  his 
culture  he  placed  himself  under  a  bondage  which  made  it  impos- 
sible for  him  to  give  characters  a  native  freedom.  Bound  to  observe 
the  unities  of  time,  place,  and  action,*  he  could  not  portray  life 
naturally. 

But  worse  than  the  defects  springing  from  Jonson's  servitude  to 
classical  laws  is  his  singular  want  of  what  is  called  humanity.  His 
humor  is  never  genial,  his  fun  never  infectious;  his  point  of  view 
is  always  that  of  the  satirist.  He  takes  his  materials,  both  for 
intrigue  and  for  character,  from  odious  sources.  For  instance,  the 
action  of  two  of  his  finest  plays,  Volpone  and  The  Alchymist,  turns 
entirely  upon  a  series  of  ingenious  cheats  and  rascalities,  all  the 
persons  being  either  scoundrels  or  their  dupes. 

Nevertheless,  Jonson's  knowledge  is  so  vast,  the  force  and  vigor 
of  his  expression  so  unbounded,  the  tone  of  his  morality  so  high 
and  manly,  that  his  plays  retain  a  high  place  in  literature. 


*  Three  rules  were  carefully  observed  in  the  composition  of  a  Grecian  Drama : 
1.  That  there  should  be  a  distinct  plot  with  one  main  action,  to  which  all  the  minor 
parts  of  the  play  should  contribute.  2.  That  the  incidents  of  the  play  should 
naturally  come  within  one  day.  3.  That  the  entire  action  should  naturally  occur  iu 
one  place.  These  three  rules  are  known  as  the  Unity  of  Action,  the  Unity  of  Time, 
and  the  Unity  of  Place,  or  as  "  the  dramatic  unities." 


120  BEKJONSOH. 

His  faults  were  the  typical  faults  of  the  conceited  man;  his 
virtues  were  his  own.  Egotistical  to  the  last  degree,  self-willed 
and  overbearing,  he  was  yet  frank,  generous,  and  social  in  temper, 
and  truly  upright  and  earnest  in  purpose.  At  the  famous  "  wit- 
combats  "  of  the  Mermaid  Tavern  he  was  the  self-constituted  auto- 
crat. He  scrupled  not  to  lay  down  the  laws  of  the  drama  to 
Shakespeare  himself.  In  Every  Man  Out  of  His  Humor,  and  in 
Cynthia's  Reveh,  be  proclaimed  his  mission  as  a  dramatic  reformer ; 
and  he  satirized  "  the  ragged  follies  of  the  time  "  with  such  savage 
acrimony  as  provoked  a  storm  of  recrimination  from  his  lampooned 
contemporaries.  Decker  and  Marston  were  his  chief  opponents  in 
the  literary  war  that  ensued.  They  accused  him  of  plagiarism,  they 
mocked  his  bombast,  they  questioned  his  learning.  The  Poetaster, 
The  Tale  of  a  Tub,  and  many  passages  in  Jonson's  other  plays, 
attest  the  vigor  with  which  he  bore  his  part.  Yet  the  same 
egotism  which  rendered  him  insensible  to  Shakespeare's  influence 
guarded  him  against  servile  imitation,  and  made  him,  next  to 
Shakespeare,  the  most  original  dramatist  of  the  era;  and  the 
intrepid  self-confidence  which  would  guide,  not  follow,  popular 
taste,  kept  his  works  pure  from  the  gross  immorality  which  stains 
the  brightest  pages  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher.  Doubtless  his 
resolute  self-assertion  aided  him  in  winning  recognition  for  the 
admirable  qualities  of  his  heart  and  head.  There  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  his  social  position  was  superior  to  Shakespeare's;  and 
in  an  age  when  play-writing  was  hardly  considered  M  a  creditable 
employ,"  Clarendon  affirms  that  u  his  conversation  was  very  good, 
and  with  men  of  the  best  note." 

It  is  remarkable  that  while  Jonson  in  his  plays  is  distinguished 
for  that  hardness  and  dryness  which  we  have  endeavored  to  point 
out,  the  same  poet,  in  another  field,  should  be  remarkable  for 
elegance  and  refinement  of  invention  and  style.  In  the  thirty-five 
Masques  and  Court  Entertainment*,  which  he  composed  for  the 
amusement  of  the  king  and  the  great  nobles,  as  well  as  in  the 
charming  fragment  of  a  pastoral  drama  entitled  the  Sad  Shepherd, 
Jonson  appears  quite  another  man.  Everything  that  the  richest 
and  most  delicate  invention  could  supply,  aided  by  extensive, 
choice  and  recondite  rending,  is  lavished  upon  these  courtly  com- 
pliments. Their  gracefulness  almost  makes  us  forget  their  adula- 
tion and  servility.     AjDODg  the  most  beautiful  of  these  masques  we 


BEtf    JOtfSOtf.  121 

may  mention  Paris  Anniversary,  the  Masque  of  Oberon,  and  the 
Masque  of  Queens.  Besides  his  dramatic  works,  Jonson  left  writings 
in  both  prose  and  verse.  The  former  portion,  called  Discoveries, 
contains  many  valuable  notes  on  books  and  men — those  on  Shake- 
speare and  Bacon  being  the  most  interesting. 

As  a  literary  man  Jonson  stands  alone.  All  critics  say  it ;  he  says 
it.  In  pedantry  he  was  as  distinguished  as  he  was  for  scholarship. 
His  diction  was  as  rotund  as  his  figure.  While  you  read  his 
writings  some  one  is  continually  telling  you  that  the  thoughts  and 
the  words  are  weighty  and  wonderful,  and  that  one  is  Ben  Jonson. 
He  was  his  own  ideal.  He  was  a  genuine  Englishman.  Shakespeare 
was  a  cosmopolitan.  Jonson  was  to  Shakespeare  what  England  is 
to  the  world.  While  we  may  smile  at  some  of  Jonson's  traits,  we 
admire  the  resoluteness  of  purpose  that  lies  behind  his  self-confi- 
dence ;  we  admire  his  lofty  theory  of  virtue,  though  his  own  vices  are 
not  concealed ;  we  admire  the  learning  which  supports  his  pedantry ; 
we  admire  the  bravery  that  comes  to  the  rescue  of  his  boasting. 

BEAUMONT  AND   FLETCHER. 

Superior  to  Ben  Jonson  in  variety  and  animation,  though  not 
equal  to  him  in  solidity  of  knowledge,  were  Francis  Beaumont 
(1586-1616)  and  John  Fletcher  (1576-1625)  (91,  92),  by  birth 
and  by  education  of  a  higher  social  status  than  their  fellow-drama- 
tists; Beaumont  being  the  son  of  a  judge,  and  Fletcher  the  son  of  a 
bishop  (91)-  Concerning  the  details  of  their  lives  and  characters 
we  possess  but  vague  and  scanty  information. 

Their  Literary  Partnership.  There  seems  to  be  reason  for 
ascribing  to  Beaumont  more  of  the  sublime  and  tragic  genius,  to 
Fletcher  most  of  gayety  and  comic  humor.  Fletcher  was  the  more 
prolific  and  versatile  writer,  and  the  volatile  creativeness  of  his  fancy 
may  have  been  restrained  and  directed  by  the  sounder  judgment  of 
his  friend.*  But  so  blended  is  their  glory  that  neither  biography  nor 

*  "  There  was  a  wonderful  similarity  between  Mr.  Francis  Beaumont  and  Mr. 
John  Fletcher,  which  caused  the  clearness  of  friendship  between  them.  I  have 
heard  Dr.  John  Earle,  since  Bishop  of  Sarum,  say,  who  knew  them,  that  his 
(Beaumont's)  business  was  to  correct  the  snperflowings  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  wit. 
They  lived  together  on  the  Bankside,  not  far  from  the  playhouse  ;  both  bachelors, 
had  one  bench  of  the  house  between  them,  which  they  did  so  admire,  th"  same 
cioathes,  cloaks,  edc.,  between  them."— Aubrey,  1697. 

6 


122  BEAUMONT     AND     FLETCHER. 

criticism  has  been  able  to  separate  their  names.  Their  respective 
plays  cannot  be  indicated  with  certainty,  their  tastes  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished, their  talents  cannot  be  discriminated.  Charles  Lamb 
praises  the  "noble  practice"  of  the  time  when  eminent  authors 
shared  each  other's  labors  and  each  other's  fame.  Tt  must  have 
been  remembrance  of  the  marvelous  literary  partnership  existing  be- 
tween Beaumont  and  Fletcher  that  prompted  his  praise.  A  thought 
beyond  them  would  have  reminded  him  of  the  feuds  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan authors,  of  the  criminations,  recriminations,  and  Scandals 
of  that  time.  Human  nature  had  its  selfishness  and  its  jealousies- 
then,  and  tiie  great  dramatists  had  their  share  of  the  weaknesses 
of  human  nature.  Greene  hated  Marlowe,  and  was  jealous  of 
Shakespeare ;  Marlowe  was  indignant  at  Nash ;  Chapman  shot 
poisoned  arrows  at  Ben  Jonson,  and  Jonson  applied  his  cudgels  to 
the  backs  of  Decker  and  Marston.  No  niche  in  the  temple  of 
literary  fame  is  large  enough  to  receive  two  men,  save  that 
1606 f J  in  which  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  appear.  Their  part- 
nership was  formed  when  Beaumont  was  twenty  Mid 
Fletcher  thirty  years  of  age,  and  was  continued  for  ten  years. 

Their  Dramatic  Works.     Their  works  afford  constant  evidence 
of  the  influence  and  inspiration  of  Shakespeare ;  and  several  of  t  hi  r 
plays,  in  which  the  graceful,  humorous,  and  romantic  elements  pre- 
dominate,  are  by  no  means   unworthy  of  comparison  with 
comedies  as  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  As  You  tike  ft, and  M 
for  Measure.    But  in  the  delineation  of  sustained  passion  tie  \  are 
Immeasurably  inferior  to  their  master.    The  range  of  their  char- 
acter-painting is  comparatively  limited,  and  their  pathos  is  tender 
rather  than  deep.    Their  numerous  portraits  of  valiant  soldiers  may 
be  pronounced  unequaled,  and  they  are  skilled  in  depicting  noble 
and  magnanimous  reeling.     It  is  in  their  pieces  of  mixed  sentiment, 
containing  comic  matter  intermingled  with  romantic  and  ftl 
incidents,  that  their  powers  are  best  displayed.     Of  this  q] 
better  examples  can  be  selected  than  the  comedies  of  the 
[{/•other,   Rule   a  Wife   and    liter   a   It,/',,    Beggori   Busk,  and    the 
Spamth  Curate.     In    the    more    fan-ieal    intrigues    and    ehai 
such  as  are  to  bo  found  ID  the  Liille  Fiuieh  Lamy  r,  the   n 
/later,  the  Soornful  Lady,  the  eccentricity  is  laughably  extravagant ; 
aud    the  authors   seem    to   enjoy    the    amusement    of  heaping    up 


PHILIP     MASSItfGER.  123 

absurdity  upon  absurdity  out  of  the  very  exuberance  of  their  humor- 
ous conceits.  Some  of  their  pieces  furnish  stores  of  antiquarian  and 
literary  material ;  for  example,  the  Beggars'  Bush  contains  abun- 
dant illustrations  of  the  slang  dialect ;  and  the  Knight  of  the  Burning 
Pestle  is  a  storehouse  of  ancient  English  ballad  poetry.  They 
occasionally  attempt  some  good-humored  banter  of  Shakespeare. 
In  the  play  just  mentioned,  the  droll,  pathetic  speech  on  the 
installation  of  Clause  as  King  of  the  Gypsies  is  a  parody  of  Cran- 
mer's  speech  in  the  last  scene  of  Henry  VIII. 

The  pastoral  drama  of  The  Faithful  Shepherdess  was  written  by 
Fletcher  alone.  Its  exquisitely  delicate  sentiments  are  too  often 
soiled  by  passages  oi'  loose  and  vicious  thinking.  Ben  Jonsou's  best 
poetry,  The  Sad  Shepherd,  and  Milton's  Gomus,  were  inspired  by 
this  poem. 

Philip  Massinger  (1584-1640)  spent  two  years  in  the  University 
of  Oxford.  His  works  prove  that  he  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  classical  writers  of  antiquity.  In  1604  he  began  his  theatrical 
life,  and  continuing  it  until  his  death,  found  it  an  uninterrupted 
succession  of  struggles,  disappointments,  and  distress.  Unlike 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  who  were  servile  in  their  deference  to  the 
Court,  he  was  an  outspoken  critic  of  the  government,  and  an  advo- 
cate of  republican  principles.  According  to  the  practice  of  the 
time,  he  frequently  wrote  in  partnership  with  other  playwrights— 
the  names  of  Decker,  Field,  Rowley,  and  Middleton  being  often 
found  in  conjunction  with  his.  We  have  the  titles  of  thirty-seven 
plays,  either  entirely  or  partly  of  his  composition.  Only  eighteen 
of  them  are  extant.  "  Eleven  of  them  in  manuscript  were  in  pos- 
session of  a  Mr.  Warburton,  whose  cook,  desirous  of  saving  what 
she  considered  better  paper,  used  them  in  the  kindling  of  fires  and 
the  basting  of  turkeys,  and  would  doubtless  have  treated  the 
manuscript  of  the  Faery  Queene  and  the  Novum  Organum  in  the 
same  way,  had  Providence  seen  fit  to  commit  them  to  her  master's 
custody."  *  The  best  known  are  The  Virgin  Martyr  (93),  The  Fatal 
Dowry,  The  Duke  of  Milan,  The  Bondman,  The  City  Madam,  and 
The  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts.  The  last  named  is  occasionally  put 
upon  the  modern  stage,  and  contains  the  famous  character  of  Sir 
Giles  Overreach. 

*  Whipple's  Literature  of  the  Aye  of  Elizabeth. 


124  JOHN     FORD. 

This  writer  has  the  power  of  delineating  the  sorrows  of  pure  and 
lofty  minds  exposed  to  unmerited  suffering.  Massinger  had  no 
aptitude  for  pleasantries ;  but  a  desire  to  please  the  mixed  audi- 
ences of  those  days  tempted  him  to  introduce  stupid  buffoonery  and 
loathsome  indecency  into  his  plays.  His  style  and  versification  are 
singularly  sweet  and  noble.  No  writer  of  that  day  is  so  free  from 
archaisms  and  obscurities;  and  perhaps  there  is  none  in  whom 
more  constantly  appear  the  force,  harmony  and  elevation  of  which 
the  English  language  is  susceptible.  Dignity,  tenderness  and  grace, 
are  the  qualities  in  which  he  excels.  At  the  close  of  a  life  of  pov- 
erty he  died  in  obscurity,  and  in  the  notice  of  his  death  the  parish 
register  names  him  u  Philip  Massinger  a  stranger." 

To  John  Ford  (1586-1639  ?)  the  passion  of  unhappy  love  has 
furnished  almost  exclusively  the  subject-matter  of  his  plays.  He 
was  a  lawyer,  who  found  time  to  use  a  poetic  pen  while  carrying 
on  the  work  of  his  profession.  He  began  his  dramatic  career  by 
working  with  Decker.  One  of  their  productions  was  the  touching 
tragedy  of  the  Witch  of  Edmonton,  in  which  popular  superstitions 
are  skilfully  combined  with  a  pathetic  story  of  love  and  treachery. 
The  works  attributed  to  him  are  not  numerous.  He  wrote  the 
tragedies  of  the  Brother  and  Sister,  the  Broken  Heart  (beyond  all 
comparison  his  most  powerful  work),  a  graceful  historical  drama 
on  the  subject  of  Perlcin  Warbeck,  and  the  following  romantic  or 
tragic-comic  pieces :  the  Lover's  Melancholy  (94),  Love's  Sacrifice, 
Fancies  Chaste  and  Nolle,  and  the  Lady's  Trial.  His  personal  char- 
acter, if  we  may  judge  from  slight  allusions  found  in  contemporary 
writings,  was  sombre  and  retiring;  and  in  his  works  pensive 
tenderness  and  pathos  are  carried  to  a  higher  pitch  than  in  any 
other  dramatist. 

John  Webster  is  perhaps  the  most  original  genius  among  Hie 
Shakespearean  dramatists  of  the  second  order.  But  one  fact  in  his 
biography  is  known, — he  belonged  to  the  Merchant  Tailors'  Com- 
pany. His  writing  has  something  of  that  dark,  bitter,  and  woful 
expression  which  thrills  us  in  the  work  of  Dante.  The  number  of 
his  known  works  is  very  small ;  the  most  celebrated  among  them 
is  the  tragedy  of  the  Duchess  of  Malfy  (95) :  but  others  are  not 
inferior  to  that  strange  piece  in  intensity  of  feeling  and 
grimness  of  treatment.  Besides  the  above  we  have  Tin  />  wTl  LttU 
Case;Guise;  or  the  Massaers of  France,  in  which  tin-  St.  Bartholo- 


JOHN     WEBSTEB.  125 

mew  massacre  is,  of  course,  the  main  action ;  the  White  Detail,  and 
Appius  and  Virginia.  We  thus  see  that  he  worked  by  preference 
on  themes  which  offered  a  field  for  the  portrayal  of  the  darker 
passions  and  of  the  moral  tortures  of  their  victims.  As  Charles 
Lamb  says,  "To  move  a  horror  skilfully,  to  touch  a  soul  to  the 
quick,  to  lay  upon  fear  as  much  as  it  can  bear,  to  wean  and  weary 
a  life  till  it  is  ready  to  drop,  and  then  step  in  with  mortal  instru- 
ments to  take  its  last  forfeit ;  this  only  a  Webster  can  do." 

As  we  pass  on  to  the  lower  grades  of  dramatic  talent,  we  are 
almost  bewildered  by  the  number  and  variety  of  its  manifestations. 
Two  writers,  however,  should  have  notice  :  Thomas  Decker  usually 
appears  as  a  fellow-laborer  with  other  dramatists,  yet  in  the  few 
pieces  attributed  to  his  unassisted  pen,  he  shows  great  elegance  of 
language  and  deep  tenderness  of  sentiment.  Thomas  Heywood 
exhibits  a  graceful  fancy,  and  one  of  his  plays,  A  Woman  Killed 
with  Kindness,  is  among  the  most  touching  of  the  period. 

The  Close  of  the  Dramatic  Era.  The  dramatic  era  of  Eliza- 
beth and  James  closes  with  James  Shirley  (1596-1666),  whose 
comedies,  though  in  many  respects  bearing  the  same  general  char- 
acter as  the  works  of  his  great  predecessors,  still  seem  the  earnest 
of  a  new  period  (96)-  He  excels  in  the  delineation  of  gay  and 
fashionable  society ;  and  his  dramas  are  more  remarkable  for  ease, 
grace,  and  animation,  than  for  portraiture  of  character.  The  glory 
of  the  English  drama  had  almost  departed ;  and  its  extinction  was 
hastened  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  in  1642  and  by  the 
enactments  of  Parliament  in  1642,  1647  and  1648,  which  closed  the 
theatres  and  suppressed  the  dramatic  profession.  From  that  date 
until  the  Restoration,  all  theatrical  performances  were  illegal ;  but 
with  the  connivance  of  Cromwell,  Davenant  gave  dramatic  enter- 
tainments at  Rutland  House ;  and  upon  the  great  Protector's  death 
in  1658,  he  ventured  to  re-open  a  public  theatre  in  Drury  Lane. 
With  this  event  began  an  entirely  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  the 
English  stage. 

The  Elizabethan  Drama  ia  the  most  wonderful  and  majestic 
outburst  of  literary  genius  that  any  age  has  yet  seen.  It  displays 
richness  and  fertility  of  imagination  combined  with  the  greatest 


126  THE     ELIZABETHAN     DRAMA. 

vigor  of  familiar  expression ;  an  intimate  union  of  the  common  and 
the  refined ;  bold  flights  of  fancy  and  scrupulous  fidelity  to  actual 
reality.  The  great  object  of  these  dramatists  being  to  produce 
intense  impressions  upon  a  miscellaneous  audience,  they  sacrificed 
everything  to  strength  and  nature.  Their  writings  reflect  not  only 
faithful  images  of  human  character  and  passion  under  every  con- 
ceivable condition,  not  only  the  strongest  as  well  as  the  most  deli- 
cate coloring  of  fancy  and  imagination,  but  also  the  profoundest  and 
simplest  precepts  derived  from  the  practical  experience  of  life. 

For  brief  discussions  of  authors  named  iu  this  chapter  see  Hazlitt's  Works, 
Vol.  m.,  Coleridge's  Works,  Vol.  IV.,  Lamb's  Works,  Vol.  IV.,  Hallam's  Litera- 
ture of  Europe,  Vol.  III. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

Shakespearean  Dramati sts. 

1.  Ben  Jonson,—His  Dramatic  Works. 

2.  Beaumont    and     Fletcher ,— Their    Literary 

Partnership, — Their  Dramatic  Works. 

3.  Philip  Massinger,  John  Ford,  John  Webster, 

Thomas  Decker,  and  Tliomas  Hey  wood. 

4.  The  Close  of  the  Dramatic  Era. 

5.  The  Elizabethan  Drama* 


CHAPTEB  XI. 

THE  PROSE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  ELIZABETHAN  PERIOD. 

THE  object  of  the  present  chapter  is  to  trace  the  nature  and  the 
results  of  that  revolution  in  philosophy  brought  about  by 
the  writings  of  Bacon ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  a  general  view 
of  the  prose  literature  of  the  Elizabethan  era.  As  Bacon  was  the 
grandest  thinker  of  that  age  who  wrote  in  prose,  he  must  be  the 
principal  figure  of  the  chapter ;  and  other  authors  of  inferior  merit 
must  be  but  briefly  mentioned. 

Much  of  the  peculiarly  practical  tendency  of  the  political  and 
philosophical  literature  of  our  own  time  can  be  traced  to  its  be- 
ginning in  the  Elizabethan  era,  when,  as  a  result  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, education  first  found  many  devotees  among  English  laymen, 
and  prose  literature,  for  the  first  time,  was  generally  used  for  other 
than  ecclesiastical  purposes.  The  clergy  had  no  longer  the  monop- 
oly of  that  learning  and  of  those  acquirements  which,  during 
preceding  centuries,  had  given  them  the  monopoly  of  power.  Lay- 
men were  wielding  the  pen.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  prose 
of  that  era  makes  but  a  poor  figure  when  compared  with  the 
splendor  of  the  Elizabethan  poetry. 

In  the  humble  department  of  historical  chronicles,  John  Stow, 
before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  published  his  Summary  oj  * 
English  Chronicles,  Annals  and  A  Survey  of  London  ;  and  Raphael 
Holinshed,  who  died  in  1580,  wrote  the  pages  from  which 
Shakespeare  drew  the  material  for  some  of  his  half-legendary,  half- 
historical  dramas,  and  for  the  majority  of  his  purely  historical 
plays. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  One  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  of 
this  era  was  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  (1552-1618),  whose  romantic 
career  belongs  to  the  political  rather  than  to  the  literary  history  of 
England  (45,  56).     He  was  among  the  foremost  courtiers  of  the 


128  SIR     WALTER     RALEIGH. 

Queen ;  he  was  a  bold  navigator,  exploring  unknown  regions  of  the 
globe;  he  was  a  brave  soldier,  winning  laurels  on  the  Continent 
and  in  Ireland.  When  James  I.  came  to  the  throne,  Raleigh's 
fortunes  declined.  He  was  unjustly  charged  with  treason,  was  tried, 
and  sentenced  to  the  Tower,  where  he  was  imprisoned  for  thirteen 
years.  During  this  weary  imprisonment  he  devoted  himself  to 
literary  and  scientific  work ; — some  of  the  time  experimenting  in 
chemistry  with  the  hope  of  discovering  the  philosopher's  stone,  and 
much  of  the  time,  with  the  help  of  friends,  writing  his  History  <>f 
the  World.  By  that  work  he  won  his  literary  fame.  Later  histo- 
ries have  shown  that  what  he  supposed  to  be  historical  facts  were 
merely  fancies,  and  that  many  of  his  theories  were  groundless;  still 
he  holds  and  deserves  the  honor  of  being  the  pioneer  in  the  de- 
partment of  dignified  historical  writing.  After  his  long  imprison- 
ment he  was  sent  to  South  America  in  quest  of  riches  for  the  king. 
The  expedition  was  unfortunate.  One  of  Raleigh's  exploits  enraged 
the  Spanish  Court,  and  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  Spaniards, 
Raleigh  was  seized  upon  his  return  to  England,  and  was  beheaded. 
^  man  of  remarkable  patience  and  resolution,  and  showing  many 
signs  of  powerful  intellect,  Raleigh  must  have  been  one  of  the 
eminent  literary  men  of  his  age,  had  his  life  been  devoted  to 
letters.  He  was  the  founder  of  that  famous  "Mermaid  Club" 
in  which  Jonson,  Fletcher,  probably  Shakespeare,  and  other 
wits  of  the  day,  gathered  to  enjoy  each  other's  conversation; 
and  was  himself  accounted  one  of  the  most  charming  members  of 
that  literary  company.  His  resources  of  character  were  equal  to 
his  reputation,  for  in  the  most  desperate  circumstances  he  was 
thoroughly  self-possessed.  In  his  trial  for  treason,  when  the 
Attorney-General,  hurling  fierce  invectives  at  him,  said,  u  I  want 
words  to  express  thy  viperous  treasons,"  "  True,"  said  Raleigh, 
u  for  you  have  spoken  the  same  thing  half  a  dozen  times  over 
already  ;  "  and  when  he  was  brought  to  the  block,  taking  the  axe 
in  his  hand,  he  ran  his  fingers  over  its  keen  edge,  smiling  as  he  said, 
"This  is  a  sharp  medicine,  but  it  will  cure  all  diseases."  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  he  did  not  use  his  ever-present  wit,  his  poetic 
talent  and  his  ready  pen,  in  making  more  varied  and  more  valuable 
contributions  to  our  literature. 

Richard  Hooker  (1553-1600),  a  man  of  piety  and  vast  learning, 


RICHARD     HOOKER.  129 

was  the  great  champion  of  the  principles  of  the  Church  of  England 
against  the  encroachments  of  Puritan  sentiments.  He  was  for  four 
years  a  Fellow  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  where  he  gained  fame 
as  a  lecturer  on  Oriental  literature.  In  1585  his  eloquence  and 
learning  obtained  for  him  the  eminent  post  of  Master  of  the  Temple 
of  London.  Here  his  colleague,  Walter  Travers,  propounded 
doctrines  of  church  government  similar  to  those  of  Calvin,  and 
therefore  incompatible  with  Hooker's  opinions.  Hooker  was  the 
morning  lecturer  and  Travers  held  forth  in  the  afternoon.  Thus, 
it  was  said,  "the  forenoon  sermon  spoke  Canterbury,  and  the 
afternoon  Geneva."  The  mildness  and  modesty  of  Hooker's  char- 
acter made  controversy  odious  to  him.  He  induced  his  ecclesias- 
tical superior  to  remove  him  to  the  more  congenial  duties  of  a 
country  parish,  and  there  he  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to 
that  work  which  has  placed  him  among  the  most  distinguished  of 
Anglican  divines,  and  among  the  best  prose-writers  of  his  age.  The 
title  of  this  work  is  A  Treatise  on  the  Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity 
(57),  and  its  purpose  is  to  investigate  and  define  the  principles 
which  underlie  the  right  of  the  Church  to  claim  obedience  from 
its  members,  and  the  duty  of  the  members  to  render  obedience  to 
the  Church.  But  while  thus  fortifying  the  organization  of  the 
English  Church  against  the  attacks  of  the  Roman  Catholics  on  the 
one  hand  and  of  the  Puritans  on  the  other,  Hooker  has  built  up  his 
arguments  upon  those  eternal  truths  which  are  the  foundation  of 
all  law,  all  duty,  and  all  rights,  political  as  well  as  religious.  The 
Ecclesiastical  Polity  is  a  work  of  profound  and  cogent  reasoning. 
It  gave  new  dignity  to  English  prose  literature.  Its  style  is 
wholly  free  from  pedantry,  clear  and  vigorous.  To  Hooker  be- 
longs the  glory  of  first  fully  developing  the  English  language  as 
a  vehicle  of  refined  and  philosophic  thought.  The  breadth  and 
power  of  his  mind  are  fitly  expressed  in  the  stately  majesty  of  his 
periods.* 


*  One  of  the  most  famous  sentences  in  our  literature,  found  in  the  first  hook  of 
The  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  reads  as  follows :  "  Of  law  there  can  he  no  less  acknowl- 
edged than  that  her  seat  is  the  hosom  of  God,  her  voice  the  harmony  of  the  world: 
all  things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her  homage  ;  the  very  least  as  feeling  her  care, 
and  the  greatest  as  not  exempted  from  her  power  ;  hoth  angels  and  men,  and  crea- 
tures of  what  condition  soever,  though  each  in  different  sort  and  manner,  yet  all 
with  uniform  consent,  admiring  her  as  the  mother  of  their  peace  and  joy.'1 


130  BACOI 


FRANCIS    BACON. 

"The  wisest,  brightest,  meanest  of  mankind.1'— Pope. 

"  The  great  secretary  of  nature  and  all  learning."—  Walton. 

*'  He  had  the  sound,  distinct,  comprehensive  knowledge  of  Aristotle,  with  »11  th# 
beautiful  lights,  graces,  and  embellishments  of  Cicero."— Addison. 

44  He  may  be  compared  with  those  liberators  of  nations  who  have  given  laws  by 
which  they  might  govern  themselves,  and  retained  no  homage  but  their  gratitude." 
— Ilallam. 

44  Who  is  there  that  upon  hearing  the  name  of  Lord  Bacon  does  not  instantly 
recognize  everything  of  genius  the  most  profound,  everything  of  literature  the  most 
extensive,  everything  of  discovery  the  most  penetrating,  everything  of  observation 
of  human  life  the  most  distinguishing  and  reflned."— Burke. 

44  My  conceit  of  his  person  was  never  increased  towards  him  by  his  place  or 
honors  ;  but  I  have  and  do  reverence  him  for  the  greatness  that  was  only  proper  to 
himself:  in  that  he  seemed  to  me  ever,  by  his  work,  one  of  the  greatest  men  and 
most  worthy  of  admiration  that  had  been  in  many  ages.  In  his  adversity  I  ever 
prayed  God  would  give  him  strength;  for  greatness  he  could  not  want."—  Ben 
Jonson. 


B.  1561.]  In  his  manhood  Francis  Bacon  was  extrava- 
D.  1626.]  gant,  fond  of  display,  a  servile  courtier,  while 
everywhere  a  close  observer,  a  keen  critic,  and  a 
profound  thinker.  His  seemingly  incongruous  qualities, 
if  native  to  his  character,  had  heen  fostered  by  the  fortune 
of  his  childhood  and  youth.  He  was  the  younger  and 
the  favorite  son  of  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon.  His  father,  the 
Lord-Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  was  one  of  the 
statesmen  who  gave  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  its  glory*  His 
mother  was  a  woman  of  stern  integrity  of  character,  trained 
in  the  learning  of  tfi at  day.  Under  parental  in1lucn« 
which  were  blended  dignity,  vigor,  intelligence,  refinement, 
and  practical  shrewdness,  in  the  elegance  of  an  English  noble- 
man's palace,  amid  the  clustering  associations  of  cultivated 
society,  there  was  every  opportunity  for  the  development  at 
extravagant  tastes,  of  oourtiership,  of  self-esteem,  of  observa- 
tion, and  of  thoughtfulness.     In  boyhood  his  body  was  very 


BACON.  131 

delicate,  his  mind  was  precocious.  The  great  Queen,  petting 
him,  would  call  him  her  little  Lord-Keeper.  When  thirteen 
years  old  he  was  sent  to  Cambridge.  Life  at  the  university 
roused  a  spirit  courageous  enough  to  attack  the  mon- 
strous system  of  scholastic  learning,  and  honest  enough  to 
tell  the  world  that  what  they  had  been  reverencing  as  a 
divine  philosophy  was,  as  they  were  beginning  to  suspect, 
false  and  effete.  His  observation  discovered  that  in  the 
system  of  instruction  at  the  universities  there  was  slavish 
deference  to  authority,  that  men  did  not  dare  to  think  be- 
yond the  thoughts  of  former  generations,  that  progress  was 
thereby  impossible.  In  his  fellow-students  he  saw  men  like 
"  becalmed  ships,  that  never  move  but  by  the  wind  of  other 
men's  breath,  and  have  no  oars  of  their  own  to  steer  withal." 

At  sixteen  he  went  to  live  in  France  as  an  attache  of  the 
English  ambassador.  There  he  saw  new  phases  of  the 
courtier's  life,  studied  the  national  character,  and  confirmed 
his  opinions  of  the  need  of  improvement  in  the  intellectual 
pursuits  of  men.  He  must  have  displayed  some  talent  in 
business  affairs,  for  he  gained  the  confidence  of  the  ambas- 
sador, and  was  intrusted  by  him  with  despatches  to  the 
Queen.  During  the  two  years  spent  upon  the  Continent  he 
was  observing  and  studious,  and  was  interested  in  gathering 
material  for  his  first  literary  work,  Of  the  State  of  Europe. 

In  1579  he  was  summoned  to  England  on  account  of  the 
death  of  his  father.  He  was  then  nearly  nineteen  years  old, 
without  money,  with  only  his  ambition  and  his  intellect  to 
help  him  in  winning  his  way  to  eminence.  Living  in  that 
stirring  age,  schooled  in  the  ways  of  the^vorld,  knowing  the 
methodless  life  of  the  professed  philosophers,  a  mind  as 
observing,  as  positive  as  his,  necessarily  resolved  upon  a 
definite  pursuit,  and  established  for  itself  certain  principles 
of  action.  If  we  can  detect  that  purpose  and  those  prin- 
ciples, we  may  be  able  to  understand  some  of  the  mysterious 
contrasts  of  his  life. 


132  BACON. 

It  is  reasonable  for  us  to  believe  that  he  had  become  con- 
vinced— 

1st.  That  learning  was  not  doing  the  sort  of  work  it 
should  do  for  mankind. 

2d.  That  whoever  would  inaugurate  a  reformation  in 
learning  must  be  a  person  eminent  in  the  public  confidence. 

3d.  That  no  person  could  attain  eminence  and  public 
confidence  who  had  not  the  sanction  and  patronage  of  the 
Court. 

4th.  That  scholarly  attainments,  without  the  courtiers 
shrewdness,  could  not  win  the  needed  sanction  and  patron- 
age. 

Passages  in  his  letters  and  the  course  he  pursued,  show 
that  these  were  his  earnest  convictions. 

His  Relations  to  Burleigh  and  to  Essex.  He  promptly 
began  the  study  of  the  law,  and  in  1582  was  called  to  the 
bar.  Those  who  condemn  him  say  that  he  made  servile  and 
persistent  appeals  for  patronage.  He  did  beg  of  his  uncle 
Burleigh,  the  Lord  Treasurer,  that  some  office,  with  light 
duties,  and  yet  with  generous  compensation,  might  be  given 
to  him,  in  order  that  he  might  have  the  time  and  the  means 
for  becoming  "  a  pioneer  in  the  deep  mines  of  truth."  In 
one  of  his  letters,  he  said  that  he  had  "vast  contemplative 
ends,"  and  that  he  had  "  taken  all  knowledge  for  his  pro- 
vince." These  earnest  declarations  doubtless  seemed  to  the 
sturdy  old  uncle  like  the  aspirations  of  a  dreamer.  Me  had 
no  faith  in  the  practical  shrewdness  of  his  nephew,  and 
therefore  pushed  him  away  from  t lie  approaches  to  prefer- 
ment Failing  in  his  repeated  attempts  to  gain  the  favor  of 
Burleigh,  Bacon  sought  and  won  the  friendship  of  Kssex, 
his  uncle's  rival.  Essex  gave  him  Urge  sums  of  money,  ami 
tried,  unsuccessfully,  to  secure  his  political  advancement. 
Bacon  soon  discovered  that  Essex  was  a  dangerous  friend, 
because   a   reckless    man.     Their  intimacy   ceased.     In  * 


BACOK.  133 

few  years  Bacon,  having  been  appointed  Queen's  counsel, 
was  called  upon  to  prosecute  his  old  friend  for  acts  of 
treason.  The  charges  were  proved,  and  the  penalty  of  death 
was  inflicted.  For  his  part  in  the  prosecution  Bacon  has 
been  accused  of  ingratitude  and  of  most  malicious  selfish- 
ness. It  has  been  said  that  he  might  have  saved  his  friend, 
or,  at  least,  from  very  shame,  might  have  refused  to  appear 
against  him.  But  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  Bacon  did  all 
that  he  could  do  to  prevent  Essex  from  pursuing  his  mad 
follies ;  that  in  the  trial  he  dealt  as  gently  with  him  as  he 
could ;  and  that  when,  by  the  Queen's  command,  he  pre- 
pared the  government's  defence  for  its  treatment  of  Essex, 
his  expressions  were  so  moderate  as  to  call  forth  from  the 
angry  Queen  the  rebuking  words,  "  I  see  old  love  is  not 
easily  forgotten."  The  charge  that  Bacon  desperately 
sought  the  life  of  Essex,  for  the  sake  of  ingratiating  himself 
with  Elizabeth,  is  altogether  improbable. 

His  Political  Success.  He  was  now  on  the  way  to  high 
political  honors.  In  the  House  of  Commons  he  was  recognized 
as  a  masterly  orator;  *  in  his  profession  he  was  renowned  for 
brilliancy  and  learning.  He  was  still  seeking  advancement, 
was  using  persistent  and  studied  complaisance  towards  the 
Court.  But  surely  he  was  not  actuated  merely  by  the  in- 
fatuation of  the  politician.  His  early  ambition  for  the 
reform  of  learning  was  still  inspiring  him.  With  all  his 
eloquence  he  urged  the  government  to  aid  the  reforms 
which  he  had  projected.    The  busy  whirl  of  his  public  life 

*  "  There  happened  in  my  time  one  noble  speaker  who  was  full  of  gravity  in  his 
speaking.  His  language,  when  he  could  spare  or  pass  a  jest,  was  nobly  censorious. 
No  man  ever  spoke  more  neatly,  more  pressly,  more  weightily,  or  suffered  less 
emptiness,  less  idleness  in  what  he  uttered.  No  member  of  his  speech  but  con- 
sisted of  his  own  graces.  His  hearers  could  not  cough  or  look  aside  from  him  with- 
out loss.  He  commanded  where  he  spoke,  and  had  his  judges  angry  and  pleased  at 
his  devotion.  No  man  had  their  affections  more  in  his  power.  The  fear  of  every 
man  that  heard  him  was  lost  he  should  make  an  end.1'— Ben  Jonson,  reftrring  1a 
Bacon. 


134  BACON. 

did  not  keep  him  away  from  the  study  of  practical  philoso- 
phy. His  lament  is  pitiful  as  again  and  again  he  tells  of  the 
limited  time  he  has  to  give  to  his  inquiries  after  the  truths 
of  nature.  These  phases  of  his  life  indicate  that  the  mors 
reasonable  as  well  as  the  more  generous  view  of  his  servility 
to  the  Court  shows  him  to  have  been  seeking  something 
beyond  political  success. 

The  story  is  told  that  when  Bacon  was  a  little  boy  the 
Queen  asked  him  his  age.  He  replied,  "I  am  two  years 
younger  than  your  Majesty's  happy  reign."  That  was  an 
answer  for  a  native  courtier,  a  devotee  of  royalty,  to  make. 
When  he  was  sixty  years  old,  and  was  selected  as  the  scape- 
goat to  bear  away  the  abuses  of  James's  administration,  he 
bowed  his  head,  submissively  acknowledged  his  faults,  and 
received  the  punishment  which  a  cowardly  king  permitted 
to  be  inflicted  upon  him.  That  was  an  act  for  a  devotee  of 
royalty  to  perform.  From  childhood,  when  he  gave  his 
honest  compliment  to  the  Queen,  until  old  age,  when  he 
surrendered  his  office  and  some  of  his  honor  for  the  comfort 
of  the  King,  he  showed  to  the  English  crown  a  loyalty,  a 
reverence,  which  seems  to  us  like  superstition.  For  this  he 
has  been  condemned  by  many  an  historian,  and  has  bean 
lashed  by  the  scourge  of  many  a  critic.  When  he  is  named 
as  the  apostle  of  progress  his  revilers  allege  that  he  was  the 
blind  advocate  of  kingcraft.  Thai  there  is  ground  for  race 
statement  cannot  be  denied.  It  covers  nearly  all  the  charges 
that  are  made  against  hil  character;  still  it  does  not  make 
him  a  hypocrite.  His  reverence  for  a  crown  was  inbred. 
Nicholas  Bacon,  the  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  had  taught 
his  son  to  cherish  a  religious  loyalty  for  the  person  who 
might  be  sitting  on  the  throne  of  England. 

On  the  coronation  of  James  I.,  in  1603,  Bacon  was 
knighted,  and  at  the  same  time  was  married  to  Alice  Barn- 
ham,  the  daughter  of  a  London  alderman.  He  was  after- 
wards elected  to  more  than  one  Parliament,  and  was  ap- 


BACON.  135 

pointed  Solicitor-General,  then  Attorney-General,  then  Lord 
Keeper,  with  the  title  of  Baron  Verulam,  and  his  titles 
were  finally  completed  by  those  of  Lord-Chancellor  and 
Viscount  St.  Albans.  In  the  discharge  of  his  varied  and 
great  responsibilities  the  versatility  and  energy  of  his  genius 
were  well  displayed.  His  loyalty  to  the  Crown  was  hearty, 
his  reward  was  the  most  humiliating  punishment  which  a 
resentful  public  could  heap  upon  the  servant  of  a  despised 
king.  It  was  his  deference  to  a  weak  and  arrogant  monarch, 
combined,  it  may  have  been,  with  unbridled  personal  ambi- 
tion, which  made  Bacon  a  scapegoat  for  the  acts  of  follv 
marking  the  reign  of  James  I. 

His  Political  Disgrace.  His  political  disgrace  occurred  in 
1621.  He  was  convicted  of  corruption  in  office,  was  con- 
demned to  lose  the  chancellorship,  to  pay  a  fine  of  forty 
thousand  pounds,  to  be  imprisoned  during  the  King's 
pleasure,  to  be  ineligible  to  any  office  in  the  state,  and  was 
forbidden  to  sit  in  Parliament,  or  to  come  within  twelve 
miles  of  the  court.  But  a  remission  of  these  penalties  was 
soon  granted,  and.  in  1624,  an  annual  pension  of  twelve 
hundred  pounds  was  bestowed  upon  him  for  life. 

The  life  of  the  fallen  minister  was  prolonged  for  five  years 
after  his  disgrace.  In  spite  of  his  misfortunes  and  of  his 
pecuniary  embarrassments,  those  were  his  most  fruitful  years. 
He  died  in  1626.  Riding  in  his  carriage  one  spring  day,  when 
the  snow  was  falling,  it  occurred  to  him  that  snow  might 
serve  as  well  as  salt  in  preserving  flesh.  So  stopping  at  a 
cabin  by  the  roadside,  he  bought  a  fowl,  for  the  purpose  of 
trying  the  experiment.  By  the  slight  exposure  he  was 
chilled,  and  thrown  into  a  sudden  and  fatal  fever.  To  use 
the  words  of  Lord  Macaulay,  "  The  great  apostle  of  experi- 
mental philosophy  was  destined  to  be  its  martyr. " 

Bacon's  Service  to  Science.     In  order  to  appreciate  the 


136  BACON. 

services  which  Bacon  rendered  to  science,  we  must  dismiss 
from  our  minds  the  common  and  erroneous  idea  that  he  wud 
an  inventor  or  discoverer  in  any  specific  branch  of  knowledge. 
He  attempted,  not  to  teach  the  results  of  investigation,  but 
to  show  the  method  by  which  investigations  should  be 
made.  We  must  also  remind  ourselves  of  that  philosophy 
which  Bacon  wished  to  supplant.  It  had  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  the  practical  science  of  modern  times.  It  was 
the  old  Aristotelian  philosophy  robbed  of  its  veneration  for 
Nature  and  perverted  by  many  unwarranted  interpretations. 
We  call  it  scholasticism.  No  one  of  his  devotees  was  bold 
enough  to  step  from  the  platform  of  authority.  Aristotle, 
misrepresented,  was  respected  as  the  dictator  of  all  correct 
thinking.  Verbal  distinctions,  not  useful  investigations, 
consumed  the  talents  of  the  thoughtful ;  quibbles  took  the 
place  of  earnest  questionings.  Failure  to  advance  was  due 
to  no  want  of  retirement  and  meditation,  to  no  distaste  for 
argument  and  wrangling.  The  intellect  was  in  thraldom ; 
and  reason  was  the  vassal  of  a  worthless  faith.  This  scholas- 
tic period  is  generally  spoken  of  as  extending  from  the  ninth 
to  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was  the  age  of 
superstitions  and  of  futile  reasoning.  Speculation  was  car- 
ried in  every  direction.  Natural  science,  as  well  as  psychol- 
ogy* was  made  the  subject  of  vain  imaginings.  Like  a  huge 
breakwater  this  scholasticism  skirted  the  sea  of  thought. 
For  three  centuries  it  had  broken  the  wave  of  every  advanc- 
ing opinion.  But  as  the  fifteenth  century  drew  to  its  close 
the  sea  gave  indications  of  an  approaching  storm,  the  sky 
was  overcast  by  portentous  clouds,  wave  after  wave  came 
rolling  shoreward  from  the  ocean  of  free  thought,  and,  at 
last,  the  surge  of  the  Reformation  burst  with  terrifying 
roar  against  that  time-worn  scholasticism,  tumbling  it  out 
of  the  way.     Then  thought  advanced. 

The  Aristotelian   method  of  investigation,  after  it  had 
been  perverted  by  the  schoolmen,  was  open  to  the  charuu 


BACON.  137 

of  infertility — of  being  essentially  unprogressive.  Its  prin- 
cipal aim  was  the  attainment  of  abstract  truth ;  practical 
utility  was  regarded  as  an  end  which,  whether  attained  or 
not,  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  sage.  The  object  of  the 
Inductive  Method,  as  proclaimed  by  Bacon,  was  fruit, — 
the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  mankind.  He  wished 
man  to  become  "  the  minister  and  interpreter  of  nature." 
He  would  have  the  laws  of  nature  understood,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  observed  intelligently  by  the  sailor,  the  farmer, 
the  miner,  by  whomsoever  might  be  a  worker  in  the  world. 
From  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature,  industries  would 
be  more  effective,  comforts  would  be  multiplied,  the  condi- 
tion of  man  would  be  ameliorated.  Those  laws  he  would 
have  discovered  by  means  of  a  methodic,  scientific  observa- 
tion of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  He  gave  induction  its 
rightful  place  in  philosophic  method,  he  elaborated  a  plan 
for  the  collation  of  facts,  he  dictated  rules  for  the  estimate 
of  their  value.  His  system  is  contained  in  the  series  of 
works  to  which  he  intended  to  give  the  general  title  of 
Instauratio  Magna,  or  The  Great  Institution  of  True 
Philosophy.  Its  scope  is  magnificent,  and  that  is  what 
displays  the  genius  of  the  author. 

The  Instauratio  was  to  consist  of  six  parts,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  short  synopsis  : 

I.  Partitiones  Scientiarum.  This  work  includes  his 
earlier  treatise  on  The  Advancement  of  Learning,  and  gives 
a  general  summary  and  classification  of  human  knowledge, 
with  indications  of  those  branches  in  which  science  was 
specially  defective. 

II.  Novum  Organum.  This  "new  instrument"  he  de- 
scribes as  "the  science  of  a  better  and  more  perfect  use  of 
reason  in  the  investigation  of  things,  and  of  the  true  aids  of 
the  understanding."  It  sets  forth  the  methods  to  be  adopted 
in  searching  after  truth,  points  out  the  principal  sources  of 
error  in  former  times,  and  suggests  the  means  of  avoiding 


138  BACON. 

errors  in  the  future.  Of  the  nine  sections  into  which  thia 
part  of  the  work  was  divided,  only  the  first  was  fully  dis- 
cussed. 

III.  Historia  Naturalis.  This  part  was  designed  to  be 
a  collection  of  well-observed  facts  and  experiments  in  what 
we  call  Natural  Philosophy  and  Natural  History,  and  was 
to  furnish  the  raw  material  to  be  used  in  the  new  method. 
Bacon's  Sylva  Sylvarum  is  a  specimen  of  the  work  he  would 
have  done  in  this  division  of  his  Instauratio.  His  History 
of  the  Winds,  of  Life  and  Death,  are  also  contributions  to 
this  division. 

IV.  Scala  Intellectus,  the  ladder  of  the  mind.  This  fourth 
part  was  to  give  rules  for  the  gradual  ascent  of  the  mind 
from  particular  instances  or  phenomena  to  principles  more 
and  more  abstract. 

V.  Prodromi.  Prophecies,  or  anticipations  of  truths 
"hereafter  to  be  verified,"  were  to  have  furnished  the  ma- 
terial for  this  part. 

VI.  Philosophia  Secu?ida.  This  was  intended  to  be  the 
record  of  practical  results  springing  from  the  application 
of  the  new  method. 

But  a  small  portion  of  the  magnificent  plan  was  executed. 
The  founder  himself  presented  no  claims  to  the  rank  of  a 
discoverer.  His  genius  as  a  philosopher  is  displayed  only  in 
the  comprehensiveness  of  his  scheme.  His  greatness  as  a 
man  appears  in  the  inoisiveness  and  discrimination  of  bis 
thinking,  in  his  brave  declaration  of  the  cause  of  faritket- 
ness  in  former  philosophy,  and  in  the  sublime  convietioii 
which  prompted  him  to  urge  the  improved  method  of  in- 
vestigation, and  to  foretell  what  the  future  would  bring.  His 
keen  thinking  made  him  the  intelligent  critic  of  errors  that 
had  been  ;  his  imagination  made  him  the  glowing  prophet 
of  the  glory  that  was  to  be. 

His  admirers  overstate  his  work  in  the  study  of  Nature. 
They  find  him  the  tot  to  expose  the  childish  wisdom  of  his 


BACON.  139 

predecessors,  the  first  to  announce  the  new  era,  the  first  to 
point  out  the  direction  in  which  discovery  must  move.  The 
succeeding  progress  was  in  accordance  with  his  prophecy; 
and  therefore  the  modern  reader  is  misled  into  calling  Bacon 
the  Father  of  Modern  Philosophy.  As  Craik  says,  "  The 
mistake  is  the  same  as  if  it  were  to  be  said  that  Aristotle 
was  the  father  of  poetry." 

Twenty  centuries  had  elapsed  after  Aristotle  had  shown 
his  method  of  searching  after  truth,  before  Bacon  undertook 
to  introduce  a  new  method.  Aristotle  made  thought  active ; 
Bacon  aimed  to  make  it  useful.  Aristotle  made  logic  the 
fundamental  science,  and  considered  metaphysics  of  greater 
importance  than  physics.  His  theory,  imperfectly  carried 
into  practice,  produced  twenty  centuries  of  fruitlessness ; 
two  centuries  and  a  half  of  the  practical  investigations 
which  were  advocated  by  Bacon,  have  revolutionized  the 
literary,  the  commercial,  the  political,  the  scientific  world. 
The  ancients  had  a  philosophy  of  words;  Bacon  called 
for  a  philosophy  of  works.  His  glory  is  founded  upon 
a  union  of  speculative  power  with  practical  utility,  which 
were  never  so  combined  before.  He  neglected  nothing 
as  too  small,  despised  nothing  as  too  low,  by  which  our 
happiness  could  be  augmented;  in  him,  above  all,  were 
combined  boldness  and  prudence,  the  intensest  enthusiasm, 
and  the  plainest  common  sense. 

It  is  probable  that  Bacon  generally  wrote  the  first  sketch 
of  his  works  in  English,  but  afterwards  caused  them  to  be 
translated  into  Latin,  which  was  in  his  time  the  language 
of  science,  and  even  of  diplomacy.  He  is  reported  to  have 
employed  the  services  of  many  young  men  of  learning  as 
secretaries  and  translators ;  among  these  the  most  remark- 
able is  Hobbes,  afterwards  so  celebrated  as  the  author  of  the 
Leviathan.  The  style  in  which  the  Latin  books  of  the  Install- 
ratio  were  given  to  the  world,  though  certainly  not  a  model 
of  classical  purity,  is  weighty,  vigorous,  and  picturesque. 


140  BACON. 

His  English  Writings.  Bacon's  writings  in  English  are 
numerous.  The  most  important  among  them  is  the  volume 
of  Assay*,  or  Counsels  Civil  and  Moral  (58,  61),  of  which 
the  first  edition,  containing  ten  essays,  was  published  in 
1597.  The  number  gradually  increased  to  fifty-eight,  many 
of  the  later  ones  giving  expression  to  the  author's  profound- 
est  thought  and  richest  fancy.  These  short  papers  discuss 
various  subjects,  from  grave  questions  of  morals  down  to  the 
most  trifling  accomplishments.  As  specimens  of  intellectual 
activity,  of  original  thinking  and  aptness  of  illustration, 
they  surpass  any  other  writing  of  equal  extent  in  our  litera- 
ture.   "Few  books  are  more  quoted It  would  be 

somewhat  derogatory  to  a  man  of  the  slightest  claim  to 
polite  letters  were  he  unacquainted  with  the  Essays  of 
Bacon."*  They  illustrate  the  author's  comprehensiveness 
of  mind  and  his  wonderful  power  of  condensing  thought. 
In  his  style  there  is  the  same  quality  which  is  applauded  in 
Shakespeare — a  combination  of  the  intellectual  and  imagi- 
native, the  closest  reasoning  in  the  boldest  metaphor.  Many 
of  Bacon's  essays — as  the  inimitable  one  on  Studies — are 
absolutely  oppressive  from  the  power  of  thought  compressed 
into  the  smallest  possible  compass.  It  is  through  his  brief 
Essays  that  Bacon  is  most  widely  influential  "Coming 
home,"  as  he  says  himself,  "  to  men's  l>nsines>  and  bosoms," 
they  gained,  even  in  his  own  time,  an  extensive  popularity, 
which  they  still  retain. 

In  his  Wisdom  of  the  Ancients,  he  endeavored  to  explain 
the  political  and  moral  truths  concealed  in  the  mythology 
of  classical  ages,  and  exhibited  an  ingenuity  which  Ma- 
caulay  calls  morbid.  His  unfinished  romance,  the  Neio 
Atlantis,  was  intended  to  set  forth  the  fulfilment  of  his 
dreams  of  a  philosophical  millennium.  He  also  wrote  a 
History  of  Henry  VII.,  and  a  vast  Dumber  of  state-papers, 
judicial    decisions,   and    other    professional    writings.       All 

♦  ilalKuu. 


BACON,  141 

these  are  marked  by  a  vigorous  and  ornate  style,  and  are 
among  the  finest  specimens  of  the  prose  literature  of  that 
age.  His  writing  on  religious  themes,  though  invariably 
condensed  into  short  passages,  is  full  of  profound  and  rever- 
ent thought.  He  gave  many  striking  interpretations  of 
scripture,  made  versions  of  some  of  the  Psalms,  and,  as 
Taine  says,  wrote  several  prayers  which  are  among  the 
finest  known. 


For  more  extended  reading  on  this  topic  consult  Macanlay's  essay  on  Bacon. 
Whipple's  essays  in  The  Literature  of  the  Age  of  Elizabeth,  Lewes's  Biographical 
History  of  Philosophy,  Hallam's  Literature  of  Europe,  The  Baconian  Philosophy,  by 
Tyler,  Fischer's  Bacon  and  His  Times,  Spedding's  Francis  Bacon  and  His  Times, 
G.  H.  Lewes's  Aristotle,  and  Mill's  Logic. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

The  Prose  Literature  of  the  Elizabethan  Period, 

1.  John  Stoiv  and  Raphael  Holinshed. 

2.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 

3.  Richard  Hooker. 

4.  Francis  Bacon. 

a.  His  Relations  to  Burleigh  and  Essex, 

b.  His  Political  Success. 

c.  His  Political  Disgrace. 

d.  His  Service  to  Science. 

e.  His  English  Writings, 


si 


POETS. 


NON-DRAMATIC.  - 


Thomas  Sackyilli, 
Sir  PHiLir  Sidney, 
Edmund  Spenser, 
Walter  Raleigh. 


PROSE  WRITERS. 


[The  Dawn  of  the  Drama.J 

John  Ltlt, 
George  Peele, 
Thomas  Ktd, 
Robert  Greene, 
Christopher  Marlowe, 
DRAMATIC.       -I  William  Shakespeare, 
Ben  Jonson, 

Beaumont  and  Flktcheh 
Philip  Massinger, 
John  Ford, 
John  Webster. 

'  Walter  Raleigh,  the  Historian. 
Richard  Hooker,  (he  Churchman. 
Fhanoib  Bacon,  the  Philosopher. 


CHAPTEH  XH, 

THE  SO-CALLED  METAPHYSICAL  POETS. 

A  LTHOUGH  the  literature  of  the  seventeenth  century  indicates 
f\  no  marvelous  outburst  of  creative  power,  it  has  yet.  left 
deep  and  enduring  traces  upon  English  thought  and  upon  the 
English  language.  The  influences  of  the  time  produced  a  style 
of  writing  in  which  intellect  and  fancy  played  a  greater  part  than 
imagination  or  passion.  Samuel  Johnson  styled  the  poets  of  that 
century  the  metaphysical  school;  that  tendency  to  intellectual 
subtilty  which  appears  in  the  prose  and  verse  of  the  Elizabethan 
writers,  and  occasionally  extends  its  contagion  to  Shakespeare  him- 
self, became  with  them  a  controlling  principle.  As  a  natural  con- 
sequence, they  allowed  ingenuity  to  gain  undue  predominance  over 
feeling ;  and  in  their  search  for  odd,  recondite,  and  striking  illus- 
trations they  were  guilty  of  frequent  and  flagrant  violations  of 
sense.  Towards  the  close  of  the  period  Milton  is  a  grand  and 
solitary  representative  of  poets  of  the  first  order.  He  owed  little  to 
his  contemporaries.  They  were  chiefly  instrumental  in  developing 
the  artificial  manner  which  characterizes  the  classical  writers  of  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

John  Donne  (1573-1631)  was  declared  by  Dryden  to  be  the 
greatest  of  English  wits.  He  was  a  representative  of  the  highest 
type  of  the  extravagances  of  his  age  (50).  His  ideal  of  poetical 
composition  was  fulfilled  by  clothing  every  thought  in  a  series  of 
analogies,  always  remote,  often  repulsive  and  inappropriate.  His 
versification  is  singularly  harsh  and  tuneless,  and  the  crudeness 
of  his  expression  is  in  unpleasant  contrast  with  the  ingenuity  of  his 
thinking.  In  his  own  day  his  reputation  was  very  high.  "Rare 
Ben"  pronounced  him  "the  first  poet  of  the  world  in  some  things," 
but  declared  that  "  for  not  being  understood  he  would  perish." 
This  prophecy  was  confirmed  by  public  opinion  in  the  eighteenth 


144  EDMUND    WALLER. 

century,  but  has  been  somewhat  modified  by  the  criticism  of  out 
day,  which  discovers  much  genuine  poetical  sentiment  beneath  his 
faults  of  taste.  His  writings  certainly  give  evidence  of  rich,  pro- 
found, and  varied  learning. 

Donne's  early  manhood  was  passed  in  company  with  the  famous 
wits  of  the  Mermaid  Tavern.  The  chief  productions  of  his  youth- 
ful muse  were  his  Sati?'es,  the  Metempsychosis,  and  a  series  of 
amatory  poems.  When  forty-two  years  old,  he  was  ordained  as 
a  priest  in  the  Church  of  England.  He  soon  became  a  famous 
preacher,  and  was  appointed  Dean  of  St.  Paul's. 

Eavoring  circumstances  rather  than  substantial  desert  give  Ed- 
mund Waller  (1605-1687)  his  prominent  position  in  the  literary 
and  political  history  of  his  time.  From  his  youth  his  associations 
were  with  that  polished  society  which  could  at  once  appreciate  and 
develop  his  varied  talents.  Versatility,  brilliant  wit,  graceful  and 
fascinating  manners,  and  an  underlying  fund  of  time-serving  shrewd- 
ness gained  him  political  distinction,  and  made  him  a  social  idol. 
But  his  character  was  timid  and  selfish ;  and  his  principles  were 
modified  by  every  change  that  affected  his  own  interests.  Un- 
fortunately for  him  he  was  a  relative  of  Cromwell  and  a  member 
of  the  Long  Parliament.  Although  constrained  by  policy  to  avow 
the  republican  principles  of  the  Puritans,  he  was  at  heart  a  royalist, 
and  lost  no  opportunity  of  secretly  abetting  the  Stuart  cause.  His 
consummate  adroitness  long  averted  the  consequences  of  this  double- 
dealing;  but  in  1643  he  was  convicted  of  a  plot  for  restoring  the 
authority  of  Charles  I.  Severe  penalties  were  inflicted  upon  him, 
and  he  bowed  to  them  in  abject  submission.  The  Restoration  re- 
newed his  prosperity,  and  he  promptly  panegyrized  Charles  LL 
with  the  same  fervor  which  had  marked  his  encomiums  of  the 
Protector.  He  died  shortly  after  the  accession  of  James  II.,  having, 
with  characteristic  sagacity,  foretold  the  ruinous  issue  of  that 
monarch's  policy. 

Most  of  Waller's  poems  are  the  verses  of  love  (107),  addressed 
to  Lady  Dorothy  Sidney,  whom  he  long  wooed  under  the  name  of 
Saeliarissa.  Playfulness  of  fancy,  uniform  elegance  of  expression 
and  melody,  which  are  the  eliief  merits  of  his  verse,  can  seareely 
atone  for  its  lack  of  enthusiasm.  Two  eulogies  of  Cromwell,  one 
composed  during  the  Commonwealth,  the  other  after  the  Protee- 
tor's  death,  contain  passages  of  dignity  and  power.     He  was  less 


ABRAHAM    COWLEY.  145 

felicitous  in  a  poem  on  Divine  Love,  and  in  his  longer  work,  The 
Battle  of  the  Summer  Islands,  which  describes  in  a  half-serious,  half- 
comic  strain  an  attack  upon  two  stranded  whales  in  the  Bermudas. 
Both  Dryden  and  Pope  have  acknowledged  their  obligations  to 
Waller's  influence  as  the  "Maker  and  model  of  melodious  verse." 

Abraham  Cowley  (1618-1667)  was  the  popular  English  poet  of 
his  time  (110).  He  was  "  an  author  by  profession,  the  oldest  of  those 
who  in  England  deserve  the  name."*  He  affords  a  remarkable 
instance  of  intellectual  precocity;  when  a  mere  child  he  had  a  pas- 
sionate admiration  for  the  Faery  Queeney  and  his  first  poems  were 
published  when  he  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age.  After  a  residence 
of  seven  years  at  Cambridge,  whence  he  was  ejected  on  account  of 
his  being  a  royalist,  he  studied  at  Oxford  until  that  town  was 
occupied  by  the -Parliamentary  forces.  He  then  joined  Queen 
Henrietta,  the  wife  of  Charles  I.,  who  was  residing  in  France ;  and 

he  remained  upon  the  Continent  for  years,  exerting  all  his 
1660.]     energies  in   behalf  of  the  House  of  Stuart.     When  the 

Restoration  was  accomplished  and  his  fidelity  and  self- 
sacrifice  were  forgotten  by  Charles  II.,  Cowley  resolved  "to  retire  to 
some  of  the  American  plantations  and  forsake  the  world  forever ;  " 
but  he  abandoned  this  purpose  and  settled  in  rural  life  at  Chertsey 
on  the  Thames-  He  received  a  lease  of  lands  belonging  to  the 
Crown,  and  from  it  he  derived  a  moderate  revenue,  which  secured 
him  against  actual  want. 

Cowley  was  highly  esteemed  as  a  scholar,  a  poet,  and  an  essayist. 
Extensive  and  well-digested  reading,  sound  sense  and  genial  feeling, 
joined  to  a  pure  and  natural  expression,  render  his  prose  works 
very  entertaining.  As  a  poet  he  exhibits  the  bad  qualities  of  the 
metaphysical  school  in  their  most  attractive  form.  He  has  not 
poetic  passion ;  he  seems  to  be  ever  on  the  alert  for  striking  analo- 
gies, and  when  he  finds  one  he  shows  the  electric  spark  of  wit, 
rather  than  the  fervent  glow  of  genius.  This  fantastic  play  of  the 
intellect  displaces  .the  natural  outpouring  of  feeling,  even  in  the 
collection  of  his  amatory  verses  called  The  Mistress.  The  Anacreontics 
exhibit  his  poetical  powers  to  better  advantage  ;  their  tone  is  joy- 
ous and  spirited,  and  they  abound  in  images  of  natural  and  poetio 
beauty.  He  planned  and  began  a  work  of  great  pretensions,  eo- 
*  Taine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  146. 


146  SIR     WILLIAM     DAVENANT. 

titled  the  Davideis.  It  was  intended  to  celebrate  the  sufferings  and 
glories  of  the  King  of  Israel ;  but  it  was  left  unfinished  and  is  now 
utterly  neglected.  His  talents  were  lyric,  rather  than  epic,  and  he 
was  therefore  not  qualified  to  develop  so  grand  a  theme  in  a  mas- 
terly way. 

Donne,  the  founder  of  "  the  Metaphysical  School,"  and  his  two 
disciples,  Waller  and  Cowley,  were  the  most  prominent  literary 
figures  and  the  most  influential  and  popular  writers  in  the  genera- 
tion immediately  after  the  Elizabethan  period.  Davenant  and 
Denham  held  secondary,  but  important  positions. 

Sir  William  Davenant  (1605-1668)  derives  his  chief  claim  upon 
posterity  from  his  connection  with  the  revival  of  the  drama  at  the 
termination  of  the  Puritan  rule.  He  succeeded  Ben  Jonson  in  the 
office  of  Poet  Laureate,  and  during  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  was 
manager  of  the  Court  Theatre.  An  energetic  and  useful  partisan 
of  the  Cavaliers,  his  share  in  the  intrigues  of  the  Civil  War  had 
nearly  brought  him  to  the  scaffold ;  but  his  life  was  saved  by  the 
intercession  of  an  influential  Puritan  whom  tradition  asserts  to  have 
been  John  Milton.  After  the  Restoration,  Davenant  flourished 
under  royal  favor,  continuing  to  write  dramas  and  to  superintend 
their  performance,  until  his  death.  The  French  drama,  in  its  most 
artificial  and  frivolous  type,  was  the  ideal  of  Charles  II.  and  of  his 
court.  French  influence  revolutionized  the  English  stage.  Ac- 
tresses, young,  beautiful,  and  skillful,  took  the  places  filled  by  the 
boys  of  the  Elizabethan  era.*  In  every  respect  the  mechanical 
adjuncts  of  the  drama  were  improved.  It  is  easy  to  see  in  Dave- 
nant's  own  plays  and  in  those  which  he  remodeled,  how  completely 
the  taste  for  splendor  of  scenery,  music,  dancing  and  costumery, 
had  displaced  the  passion  of  the  earlier  public  for  faithful  pictur- 
ing of  life  and  nature.  He  was  an  ardent  worshiper  of  the  genius 
of  Shakespeare  and  of  Shakespeare's  great  contemporaries;  yet 
conformity  to  the  degraded  standard  of  the  age  obliged  him,  in 
attempting  to  revive  their  works,  to  transform  their  spirit 
tirely  that  every  intelligent  reader  must  regarfl  the  change  with 
disgust.  Davenant's  most  popular  dramas  were,  The  Siege  of 
Bhodes,  Tlte  Law  Against  Lovers,    The   Cruel  Brother  and    AJbiMMk 

*  The  first  English  actress  appeared  on  the  stage  in  the  play  of  Othello,  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.,  1661. 


PENHAM,QTJARLES,  HERBERT,  CRASHAW.    147 

Sir  John  Denham  (1615-1068)  was  indifferent  to  learning  in  his 
youth,  and  throughout  his  life  was  addicted  to  the  vice  of  gam- 
bling. No  one  had  expected  anything  from  him  that  would  be 
worthy  of  a  place  in  literature ;  but  at  twenty-six  years  of  age  he 
published  a  tragedy,  The  Sophy,  which  won  the  applause  of  the 
public.  Two  years  later,  his  poem  called  Cooper's  Hill  appeared 
(109)-  That  poem  established  his  fame.  It  contains  passages 
of  fine  description,  and  suggests  many  beautiful  thoughts  con- 
cerning the  landscape  near  Windsor.  Denham's  language  is  pure 
and  perspicuous,  and  is  free  from  the  fantastic  metaphors  abound- 
ing in  the  writings  of  his  contemporaries.  Dryden  is  thought  to 
have  been  influenced  by  the  regularity  and  vigor  of  Denham's 
verse. 

In  this  age  of  artificial  poets  there  were  many  who  were  inter- 
ested in  the  religious  agitations  of  the  Puritan  and  the  Cavalier. 
We  can  mention  but  four  of  them.  George  Wither  (1588-1667) 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  political  and  religious  sentiments  of 
Oliver  Cromwell.  He  was  a  prolific  writer  in  both  prose  and  verse. 
The  modern  critics  have  given  him  more  praise  than  former  genera- 
tions considered  his  due.  His  prose  attracts  little  attention.  His 
pastoral  poetry  (97)  has  much  melody  and  beauty  of  sentiment. 
His  Hymn*  and  Songs  of  the  Church,  and  his  Hallelujah,  display  his 
religious  thought  in  worthy  form.  The  whimsi^l  conceits  of  the 
poetry  of  his  day  are  occasionally  found  in  his  pages,  but  his  style 
is  generally  simple,  and  expressive  of  natural  and  earnest  feeling. 
Abuses  Stript  and  Whipt  was  the  title  of  his  moat  famous  satire, 
published  in  1613.     For  that  satire  he  was  imprisoned. 

Francis  Quarks  (1592-1644)  was  an  ardent  rovalist.  He  ex- 
hibits many  points  of  intellectual  likeness  to  Wither,  to  whom, 
however,  he  is  inferior  in  poetical  sentiment.  His  most  popular 
work  was  a  collection  of  Divine  Emblems  (98),  whose  moral  and 
religious  precepts  are  inculcated  in  short  poems  of  almost  laughable 
Quaintness,  and  illustrated  by  equally  grotesque  engravings. 

George  Herbert  (1583-1632)  and  Richard  Crashaw  (died  1650) 
exemplify  the  exaltation  of  religious  sentiment ;  and  both  are 
worthy  of  admiration,  not  only  as  Christian  poets,  but  as  good  and 


148    HERRICK,  SUCKLING,  LOVELACE,  OAREW. 

pious  priests.  Herbert's  poems  are  principally  short  religious  lyrics, 
combining  pious  aspirations  with  frequent  and  beautiful  pictures 
of  nature  (99).  He  decorates  the  altar  with  the  sweetest  and  most 
fragrant  flowers  of  fancy  and  of  wit.  Although  not  entirely  devoid 
of  that  perverted  ingenuity  which  deformed  Quarles  and  Wither, 
his  most  successful  efforts  almost  attain  the  perfection  of  devotional 
poetry, — a  calm  yet  ardent  glow,  a  well-governed  fervor  which 
seems  peculiarly  to  belong  to  the  Church  of  which  he  was  a 
minister.  His  collection  of  sacred  lyrics  is  entitled,  The  Temple; 
or  Sacred  Poems  and  Private  Ejaculations. 

Crash  aw  was  reared  in  the  Anglican  Church;  but  during  the 
Puritan  troubles  he  embraced  the  Romish  faith  and  became  canon 
of  the  Cathedral  at  Loretto.  That  he  possessed  an  exquisite  fancy, 
great  talent  for  producing  melody  of  verse,  and  that  magnetic 
power  over  the  reader  which  springs  from  deep  earnestness,  no 
one  can  deny  (100)-  The  most  favorable  specimens  of  his  poetry 
are  the  Steps  to  the  Temple,  and  the  beautiful  description  entitled 
Music's  Duel. 

In  the  social  life  of  the  first  half  of  this  seventeenth  century  the 
gallant  and  frivolous  Cavalier  stands  in  contrast  with  the  stern, 
serious  Puritan.  In  its  literature,  romantic  love  and  airy  elegance 
appear  beside  the  reverent  sentiments  of  religious  poetry.  The 
best  representatives  of  the  gayer  poets  are  Robert  Herrick  (1591- 
1674)  (101),  Sir  John  Suckling  (1609-1041)  (102>  Sir  Richard 
Lovelace  (1618-1658)  (103),  and  Thomas  Carew  (1589-1639) 
(104)-  Herrick,  after  beginning  his  life  in  the  brilliant  literary 
society  of  the  town  and  the  theatre,  took  orders;  but  he  continued 
to  exhibit  in  his  writings  the  voluptuous  spirit  of  his  youth.  His 
poems  were  published  under  the  names  of  Hespcri<l<*  rnd  Nd>U 
Numoers.  They  are  all  lyric,  and  the  former  are  principally  songs 
concerning  love  and  wine  ;  the  latter  are  upon  sacred  ml  jeets.  In 
him  we  lad  the  strangest  mixture  of  Benaual  coaneneai  with 
exquisite  refinement;  yet  in  fancy,  in  spirit,  in  musical  rhythm,  he 
is  never  deficient. 

Suckling  and  Lovelace  are  representative  Cavalier  poets;  both 
suffered  in  the  royal  cause;  both  exemplify  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to 
the  king,  and  of  gallantry  to  the  ladies.  Sucklings  beat  produc- 
tion is  the  exquisite  Ballad  Upon  a  Wedding,  in  which,  assuming 


CAREW.  H9 

the  character  of  a  rustic,  lie  describes  a  fashionable  marriage. 
Lovelace  is  more  serious  and  earnest  than  Suckling;  his  lyrics 
breathe  devoted  loyalty  rather  than  the  passionate,  half-jesting 
love-fancies  of  his  rival.  Such  are  the  beautiful  lines  to  Althea,  com- 
posed while  the  author  was  in  prison. 

Carew's  lyrics  have  all  the  grace,  vivacity  and  elegance  which 
should  characterize  such  works. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

The  So- Called  Metaphysical  Poets, 

1.  John  Donne. 

2.  Edmund  Waller. 

3.  Abraham  Cowley. 

4:.  Sir  William  Davenant. 

5.  Sir  John  Denham. 

0.  George    Wither,     Francis    Quarles,     George 

Herbert,  and  Richard  Crashaw. 
7.  Robert    Herrick,     Sir    John    Suckling,    Sir 

Richard  Lovelace,  and  Thomas  Carew. 


CHAPTEB  XIII* 

THEOLOGICAL    WRITERS    OF    THE    CIVIL    WAR    AND    THE 
COMMONWEALTH. 

THE  Civil  War  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  a  religious  as 
well  as  a  political  contest ;  and  the  prose  literature  of  that 
time,  therefore,  exhibits  a  strong  religious  character.  The  Church 
of  England  made  her  most  brilliant  display  of  theological  eloquence ; 
and  in  the  ranks  of  the  dissenters  many  remarkable  men  appeared, 
hardly  inferior  to  the  churchmen  in  learning  and  genius,  and  their 
equals  in  sincerity  and  enthusiasm. 

William  Chillingworth  (1602-1644),  an  eminent  defender  of 
Protestantism  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  converted  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  while  studying  at  Oxford,  and  went  to  the 
Jesuits'  College  at  Douay.  After  an  absence  of  but  two  months 
he  returned  to  Oxford,  renounced  his  new  faith,  and  published  his 
work,  entitled  The  Religion  of  the  Protestants  a  Safe  Way  to  Salvation 
(113)-  "His  chief  excellence,"  says  Mr.  Hallam,  M  is  the  close 
reasoning  which  avoids  every  dangerous  admission,  and  yields  to  no 
ambiguousness  of  language.  In  later  times  his  book  obtained  a 
high  reputation;  he  was  called  the  immortal  Chillingworth ;  he  was 
the  favorite  of  all  the  moderate  and  the  latitudinarian  writers,  of 
Tillotson,  Locke,  and  Warburton." 

The  writings  of  Sir  Thomas  Browne  (1605-1682),  though  mis- 
cellaneous, belong  to  this  department  (114).  He  was  an  exceed- 
ingly learned  man,  and  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  practis- 
ing physic  in  the  ancient  city  of  Norwich.  Among  the  most  popular 
of  his  works  are  the  treatise  on  Hydriotaphia,  or  Urn-Burial,  and 
essays  on  Vulgar  Errors,  or  PttudodotftM  Epidtmioa,  But  the  book 
which  affords  the  most  satisfactory  insight  into  his  character  is  the 


THOMAS     FULLER.  151 

Religio  Medici,  a  species  of  confession  of  faith  which  gives  a  minute 
account  of  his  own  religious  and  philosophical  opinions.  These 
writings  are  the  frank  outpourings  of  a  most  eccentric  and  original 
mind.  They  show  varied  and  recondite  reading;  and  their  facts 
and  suggestions  are  blended  by  a  strong  and  fervent  imagination. 
At  every  step  some  extraordinary  theory  is  illustrated  by  unex- 
pected analogies,  and  the  style  is  bristling  with  quaint  Latinisms, 
which  in  another  writer  would  be  pedantic,  but  in  Browne  seem 
the  natural  garb  of  thought.  All  this  makes  him  one  of  the  most 
fascinating  of  authors ;  and  he  frequently  rises  to  a  sombre  and 
touching  eloquence. 

Thomas  Fuller  (1608-1661)  has  in  some  respects  an  intellectual 
resemblance  to  Browne.  Educated  at  Cambridge,  he  entered  the 
Church,  and  was  a  famous  orator  in  the  pulpit.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  War  he  incurred  the  displeasure  of  both  factions 
by  his  studied  moderation;  but  was  for  a  time  attached  as 
chaplain  to  the  Royalist  army.  During  his  campaigning  Fuller 
industriously  collected  the  materials  for  his  most  popular  work, 
a  History  of  the  Worthies  of  England.  This,  more  than  his 
Church  History  of  Britain,  has  made  his  name  known  to  pos- 
terity. His  Sermons  exhibit  peculiarities  of  style  which  make 
him  one  of  the  remarkable  writers  of  his  age  (115)-  His  writ- 
ings are  amusing,  not  only  from  the  multitude  of  curious  details, 
but  also  from  the  quaint  yet  frequently  profound  reflections  sug- 
gested by  these  details.  The  Worthies  contains  biographical 
notices  of  eminent  Englishmen,  with  descriptions  of  the  botany, 
scenery,  antiquities,  and  other  matters  of  interest  connected  with 
their  shires.  It  is  an  invaluable  treasury  of  racy  and  interesting 
anecdotes.  Of  whatever  subject  Fuller  treats,  he  places  it  in 
so  many  novel  lights  that  the  attention  of  the  reader  is  con- 
stantly stimulated.  One  source  of  his  picturesqueness  is  his  fre- 
quent use  of  antithesis;  not  a  bare  opposition  of  words,  but  the 
juxtaposition  of  apparently  discordant  ideas,  from  whose  sudden 
^ontact  there  flashes  forth  the  spark  of  wit.  But  the  spark  is 
always  warmed  by  a  glow  of  sympathy  and  tenderness ;  for  there 
is  no  gloom  in  Fuller's  thought.  The  genial  flash  of  his  fancy 
brightens  the  gravest  topics. 


152  JEREMY     TAYLOR. 

Jeremy  Taylor  (1613-1667)  was  the  greatest  theological  writer 
of  the  English  Church  at  this  period.  He  was  a  thoroughly 
educated  man,  and  from  his  early  years  was  conspicuous  on 
account  of  his  talents  and  his  learning.  He  entered  the  service 
of  the  Church,  and  is  said,  by  his  youthful  eloquence,  to  have 
attracted  the  notice  of  Archbishop  Laud,  who  made  liim  one  of 
his  chaplains,  and  procured  him  a  fellowship  in  All  Souls'  College, 
Oxford.  During  the  Civil  War  he  stood  high  in  the  favor  of 
the  Cavaliers  and  the  Court.  After  the  downfall  of  the  king. 
Taylor  taught  a  school,  for  a  time,  in  Wales,  and  continued  to 
take  an  active  part  in  religious  controversies.  His  opinions  were 
of  course  obnoxious  to  the  dominant  party,  and  on  several  occa- 
sions subjected  him  to  imprisonment.  At  the  Restoration  he  was 
made  a  bishop,  and  during  the  short  time  that  he  held  the 
office  he  exhibited  the  brightest  qualities  that  can  adorn  the 
episcopal  dignity. 

Taylor's  writings  (116)  deal  with  sacred  thoughts.  To  be  rev- 
erent towards  his  subject,  he  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  curb  his 
fancy,  or  to  quench  his  rhetorical  fervor.  Jeffrey  called  him  "  the 
most  Shakespearean  of  our  great  divines;"  but  it  would  be  more 
appropriate  to  compare  him  to  Spenser.  He  has  the  same  pictorial 
fancy,  the  same  harmony  of  arrangement  as  Spenser.  Together 
with  Spenser's  sweetness  he  has  somewhat  of  the  languor  of  Spen- 
ser's style.  His  study  of  ancient  authors  seems  to  have  infected 
him  with  their  Oriental  and  imaginative  mode  of  thought.  In 
his  scholarly  writing  there  may  be  an  occasional  indication  of 
pedantry;  in  his  religious  life  there  is  no  cant,  no  hypocrisy.  He 
was  nearer  abreast  the  truth  than  any  former  religious  man  of 
letters  had  been.  In  argument,  in  exhortation,  he  writes  with  the 
freedom  and  exuberance  of  his  honest,  happy  soul.  This  man, 
with  the  genial  style  springing  from  his  happy  nature,  is  a  most 
interesting  character  among  polemical  writers.  His  geniality  did 
not  prevent  his  being  firm  in  his  convictions.  Living  in  an  age 
when  convictions  had  to  be  maintained  against  assaults,  even 
Jeremy  Taylor  was  compelled  to  enter  the  arena  frith  other  thinkers. 
His  polemical  writings  are  unique.  They  are  free  from  person*] 
abuse;  they  are  as  broad  in  spirit  as  they  are  lofty  in  style.  They 
are  thoroughly  benevolent.     His  style  is  unfit  for  the  close  reason- 


niCHAKD     BAXTER.  158 

ing  of  the  polemic.     His  fancy  will  beguile  him  from  the  direct 
line  of  an  argument. 

The  best  known  of  Taylor's  controversial  writings  is  the  treatise 
On  the  Liberty  of  Prophesying.  That  work  gives  him  the  glory  of 
being  the  one  who  put  forth  the  "  first  famous  plea  for  tolerance 
in  religion,  on  a  comprehensive  basis  and  on  deep-seated  founda- 
tions." *  Although  intended  by  Taylor  to  secure  indulgence  for  the 
persecuted  Episcopal  preachers,  it  is,  of  course,  equally  applicable 
to  the  teachers  of  all  forms  of  religion.  A  Justification  of  Autlwrized 
and  Set  Farms  of  Liturgie  was  an  elaborate  defence  of  the  noble  ritual 
of  the  Anglican  Church.  Among  his  works  of  a  disciplinary  and 
practical  tendency  may  be  mentioned  The  Life  of  Christ,  or  the 
Great  Exemplar,  in  which  the  scattered  details  of  the  Evangelists 
and  the  Fathers  are  co-ordinated  in  a  continuous  narrative.  Still 
more  popular  than  these  are  the  two  admirable  treatises,  On  the  Rule 
and  Exercises  of  Holy  Living,  and  On  the  Rule  and  Exercise  of  Holy 
Dying,  which  mutually  correspond  to  and  complete  each  other. 
The  least  admirable  of  Taylor's  productions  is  the  Ductor  Dubi- 
tantium,  a  treatise  on  questions  of  casuistry.  His  Sermons  are  very 
numerous,  and  are  among  the  most  eloquent,  learned,  and  powerful 
in  the  whole  range  of  Christian  literature.  As  in  his  character,  so 
in  his  writings,  Taylor  is  the  ideal  of  an  Anglican  pastor  ;  in  both 
he  exemplifies  the  union  of  intellectual  vigor  and  originality  with 
practical  simplicity  and  fervor. 

Richard  Baxter-  Many  men  eminent  for  learning,  piety,  and 
zeal,  appeared  in  the  ranks  of  the  Nonconformists  at  this  time ; 
but  if  we  omit  Milton  and  Bunyan,  who  are  reserved  for  sub- 
sequent chapters,  the  only  writer  claiming  a  distinct  notice  is 
Richard  Baxter,  He  was  the  consistent  and  able  defender  of 
the  right  of  religious  liberty ;  and  in  the  evil  days  of  James  II. 
was  exposed  to  the  virulence  and  brutality  of  the  infamous 
Jeffreys.  With  the  exception  of  The  Saints  Everlasting  Rest 
and  A  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  his  works  are  little  known  at  the 
present  day.  Amid  danger  and  persecution,  and  in  spite  of  the 
feebleness  of  his  body,  he  toiled  with  his  busy  pen  until  he  had 
contributed  to  the  polemical  and  religious  literature  of  his  lau- 

*  Ilallain,  Vol.  II.,  p.  425. 


154  RICHARD     BAXTER. 

guage  the   astounding  number  of  one  hundred   and   sixty-eight, 
publications.* 

*  In  the  Narrative  of  His  Own  Life  and  Times,  Baxter  says:  "  I  wrote  them  in 
the  crowd  of  all  my  other  employments,  which  would  allow  me  no  great  leisure  for 
polishing  or  exactness,  or  any  ornament;  so  that  I  scarce  ever  wrote  one  sheet  twice 
over,  nor  stayed  to  make  any  blots  or  interlinings,  but  was  fain  to  let  it  go  as  it  was 
first  conceived  ;  and  when  my  own  desire  was  rather  to  stay  upon  one  thing  long 
than  run  over  many,  some  sudden  occasion  or  other  extorted  almost  all  my  writings 
from  me." 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  : — 

The  Theological  Writers  of  the  Civil  War  and  the 
Commonwealth . 

1.  William  ChlUlngivorth. 

2.  Thomas  Fuller. 

3.  Jeremy  Taylor. 

4.  Richard  Baxter. 


CHAPTEB  X1¥* 

JOHN    MILTON. 


**  Thy  soul  was  like  a  star  and  dwelt  apart; 
Thou  hadst  a  voice  whose  sound  was  like  the  Mfc— 
Pure  as  the  naked  heavens,  majestic,  free  ; 
So  didst  thou  travel  on  life's  common  way 
In  cheerful  godliness :  and  yet  thy  heart 
The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay.'1—  Wordsworth. 

"John  Milton,  the  poet,  the  statesman,  the  philosopher,  the  glory  of  Eiujikw 
literature,  the  champion  and  the  martyr  of  English  liberty."— Macaulay. 

M  The  old  blind  poet  hath  published  a  tedious  poem  on  the  Fall  of  Man.  If  ita 
length  be  not  considered  as  a  merit,  it  hajh  no  other.1'—  Waller. 

"  The  first  place  among  our  English  poets  is  due  to  Milton."— Addison. 

k'  There  is  no  force  in  his  reasonings,  no  eloquence  in  his  style,  and  no  taste  lu 
his  compositions."— Goldsmith. 

"  It  is  certain  that  this  author,  when  in  a  happy  mood  and  employed  on  a  nobk 
subject,  is  the  most  wonderfully  sublime  of  all  poets  in  the  language."— Hume. 

M  Three  poets  in  three  distant  ages  born, 
Greece,  Italy.and  England  did  adorn : 
The  first  in  loftiness  of  thought  surpassed ; 
The  next  in  majesty;  in  both  the  last. 
The  force  of  nature  could  no  further  go  ; 
To  make  a  third  she  joined  the  other  two."— Dryden. 

*'  Was  there  ever  anything  so  delightful  as  the  music  of  the  Paradise  Lost  ?  It  Is 
like  that  of  a  fine  organ  ;  has  the  fullest  and  the  deepest  tones  of  majesty,  with  all 
the  softness  and  elegance  of  the  Dorian  flute  ;  variety  without  end,  and  never 
equaled,  unless,  perhaps,  by  Virgil." — Cowper. 

"  After  I  have  been  reading  the  Paradise  Lost  I  can  take  up  no  other  poet  with 
satisfaction.  I  seem  to  have  left  the  music  of  Handel  for  the  music  of  the  street.' V 
Landor 


156  MILTOH. 

"  Milton  is  as  great  a  writer  in  prose  as  in  verse.  Prose  conferred  celebrity  o« 
him  during  his  life,  poetry  after  his  death ;  but  the  renovrn  of  the  prose-writer  is 
lost  in  the  glory  of  the  poet."—  Chateaubriand. 

HISTORY  furnishes  no  example  of  entire  consecration 
to  intellectual  effort  more  illustrious  than  the  life  of 
John  Milton.  From  childhood  he  seems  to  have 
B.  1608.]  been  conscious  of  superior  powers;  and  through- 
D.  1674.]  out  his  career  circumstances  combined  to  develop 
»  his  peculiar  genius.  He  was  born  December  9th, 
1608,  and  was  the  son  of  a  London  scrivener,  whose  industry 
and  ability  had  gained  a  considerable  fortune.  Contempo- 
raneous accounts  prove  the  elder  Milton  to  have  been  a 
man  of  forcible  character,  and — though  a  Puritan — a  lover 
of  art  and  literature.  He  was  thus  able  and  willing  to 
foster  the  early  indications  of  genius  in  his  son,  and  gave  to 
him  the  rare  advantage  of  special  preparation  for  a  literary 
career*  A  thorough  training  under  his  private  tutor, 
Thomas  Young,  was  supplemented  by  a  few  years  at  St. 
Paul's  School  in  London.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was 
admitted  to  Christ's  College,"  at  Cambridge.  His  poetical 
tastes  manifested  themselves  in  an  overweening  fondness 
for  the  classics,  and  for  poetical  literature,  and  in  an  equally 
strong  dislike  to  the  dry  scholastic  sciences  then  in  vogue 
at  the  universit}'.  His  intellectual  independence  is  said  to 
have  involved  him  in  difficulty  with  the  authorities  of  his 
college ;  but  the  disgrace  must  have  been  temporary,  for  he 
received  both  degrees  at  the  usual  intervals.  To  this  period 
of  his  life  many  of  his  Latin  poems  are  attributed  :  and  the 
Hymn  on  the  Nativity  (121)  was  produced  as  a  college 
exercise.  After  leaving  the  university  in  1632  he  went 
to  live  at  his  father's  country-seat  at  Horton,  in  Bucking- 

*u  My  father  destined  me,  while  yet  a  child,  to  the  Btndy  of  polite  literature, 
which  I  embraced  with  such  avidity,  that  from  the  twelfth  year  of  my  age  I  hardly 
erer  retired  to  my  rent  from  my  studies  till  midnight,— which  was  the  first  source 
of  injury  to  my  eyes,  to  the  natural  weakness  of  which  were  added  frequent  head- 
ache* " 


MILTON.  157 

hamshire.  There  he  passed  five  years  in  devotion  to  study, 
disciplining  his  mind  with  mathematics  and  the  sciences, 
and  storing  his  memory  with  the  riches  of  classical  litera- 
ture. There  also  he  indulged  his  passionate  fondness  for 
music — a  fondness  to  which  the  invariably  melodious  struc- 
ture of  his  verse  and  the  majestic  harmony  of  his  prose 
style>bear  constant  testimony.  The  chief  productions  of 
this  studious  retirement  were  L' Allegro,  II  Pe?iseroso,  Comus, 
the  Arcades,  and  Lycidas. 

In  1638  he  determined  to  carry  out  a  long-cherished  plan 
for  Continental  travel.  Furnished  with  influential  intro- 
ductions, he  visited  the  principal  cities  of  France,  Italy  and 
Switzerland,  and  was  everywhere  received  with  respect  and 
admiration.*  He  seems  to  have  made  acquaintance  with 
men  who  were  most  illustrious  for  learning  and  genius ;  he 
visited  Galileo,  "then  grown  old,  a  prisoner  in  the  Inqui- 
sition." At  Paris  he  was  entertained  by  Grotius;  at  Flor- 
ence he  was  received  into  the  literary  academies,  and  gained 
the  praise  of  wits  and  scholars  by  some  of  his  Latin  poems 
and  Italian  sonnets.  His  plans  for  further  travel  were 
suddenly  abandoned  upon  the  news  of  the  rupture  between 
Charles  I.  and  the  Parliament;  "for,"  he  says,  "I  thought 
it  base  to  be  traveling  for  amusement  abroad  while  my 
fellow-citizens  were  fighting  for  liberty  at  home."  He  had 
hardly  been  restrained  from  uttering  his  religious  opinions 
within  the  walls  of  the  Vatican ;  f  he  was  now  ready,  at  the 

*  "  In  the  present  day,  when  we  examine  the  archives  and  visit  the  libraries  of 
the  Italian  sovereigns,  it  is  curious  to  observe  how  frequently,  in  the  correspon- 
dence of  the  most  eminent  writers  of  that  age,  we  find  the  name  of  this  young 
Englishman  mentioned."— Lamartine. 

t  "  Whilst  I  was  on  my  way  back  to  Rome  M  (from  Naples),  he  tells  us,  "  some 
merchants  informed  me  that  the  English  Jesuits  had  formed  a  plot  against  me  if  I 
returned  to  Rome,  because  I  had  spoken  too  freely  of  religion :  for  it  was  a  rule 
which  I  laid  down  to  myself  in  those  places,  never  to  be  the  first  to  begin  any 
conversation  on  religion,  but,  if  any  questions  were  put  to  me  concerning  my  faith 
to  declare  it  without  any  reserve  or  fear.  I,  nevertheless,  returned  to  Rome.  I 
took  no  steps  to  conceal  either  my  person  or  my  character,  and  for  about  the  spac« 
of  two  months,  I  again  openly  defended,  as  I  had  done  before,  the  Reformed 
religion,  in  the  very  metropolis  of  Popery. 


158  MILTON. 

first  occasion,  to  throw  himself  with  ardor,  into  the  con- 
flict that  was  rending  Church  and  State.  While  waiting 
to  be  called  into  active  service,  he  conducted  a  private 
school  in  London,  and  spent  some  of  his  time  in  poetical 
contemplation.  Before  leaving  Horton  he  had  written  to 
his  friend  Diodati,  "I  am  meditating,  by  the  help  of  heaven, 
an  immortality  of  fame,  but  my  Pegasus  has  not  yet  feathers 
enough  to  soar  aloft  in  the  fields  of  air ; "  and  in  a  letter 
written  to  another  friend  just  after  his  return  from  his 
travels,  he  said,  "  Some  day  I  shall  address  a  work  to  pos- 
terity which  will  perpetuate  my  name,  at  least  in  the  land 
in  which  I  was  born."  Intercourse  with  Continental  scholars 
and  authors  stimulated  his  ambition,  and  formed  his  pur- 
pose. He  had  resolved  to  spend  his  strength  on  a  poem  of 
the  highest  order,  either  epic  or  dramatic — the  Fall  of  Man 
may  have  already  occurred  to  him  as  a  topic.  To  this  end 
he  was  pursuing  his  studies  when  the  situation  of  affairs 
called  forth  his  first  pamphlet,  in  1641.  It  was  entitled,  Of 
Reformation,  and  made  a  violent  attack  on  the  Episcopal 
Church.  The  storm  of  argument  which  it  provoked,  drove 
Milton  to  controversy ;  and  for  the  following  twenty  years 
he  was  the  most  powerful  and  active  champion  of  Republi 
can  ism  against  Monarchy.  Among  the  most  successful  of 
his  early  prose  writings  was  his  Apology  for  Smectymnvus* 
In  1G£4  he  turned  his  attention  to  a  question  which  was  in  no 
way  related  to  the  political  agitation  of  the  time,  and  wrote 
a  series  of  elaborate  and  spirited  Works  on  Divorce.  An 
unfortunate  incident  in  his  domestic  life  had  provoked  these 
gapers;  for  in  1643,  after  a  brief  courtship,  he  had  married 
Mary  Powell,  the  daughter  of  an  Oxfordshire  Royalist.  Dis- 
gusted with  one  month's  experience  of  the  austere  gloom  of 
a  Puritan  household,  the  bride  left  her  unsocial  husband  to 

*  Stephen  Marshall,  Edward  Calamy,  Thomns  Young,  Matthew  Newcomen  and 
W(ttt/)illiam  Spurstow  were  joint  writers  of  a  Puritan  polemic,  which  was  named 
Smectymnmi*,  the  word  being  composed  of  the  initials  of  their  five  names. 


MILTOK.  159 

his  studies,  and  sought  the  merriment  of  her  father's  home. 
When  Milton  wrote  requesting  her  to  return,  she  ignored 
his  letter ;  his  messenger  she  treated  ungraciously.  Making 
up  his  mind  that  his  bride  had  forsaken  him,  he  elaborated 
his  views  on  the  question  of  divorce.  The  estrangement  con- 
tinued for  two  years,  and  then,  learning  that  her  husband 
was  about  to  illustrate  his  faith  in  his  own  doctrines  by 
marrying  again,  Mary  Milton  repented  with  all  due  humility. 
So  thoroughly  was  she  forgiven  that  her  husband's  house 
was  opened  as  a  refuge  for  her  family  when  the  Civil  War 
drove  them  into  poverty  and  distress.  In  the  meantime 
Milton  had  written  Of  Education,  and,  in  1644,  had  ad- 
dressed to  Parliament  the  most  masterly  of  his  prose  com- 
positions, the  Areopagitica ;  a  Speech  for  the  Liberty  of 
Unlicensed  Printing  (139). 

His  Services  to  the  Government.  In  1649  he  was  ap- 
pointed Latin  Secretary  to  the  Council  of  State.  The 
elegance  of  his  scholarship  and  the  soundness  of  his  judg- 
ment qualified  him  for  the  responsible  position.  His  state- 
papers  show  with  what  zeal  and  ability  he  discharged  his 
duties.  While  holding  this  office  he  undertook  the  last  and 
most  important  of  his  literary  controversies.  At  the  insti- 
gation of  Charles  II.,  then  an  exile  in  France,  Salmasius, 
an  eminent  scholar  and  the  picked  champion  of  the  royalists, 
published  an  elaborate  and  powerful  pamphlet  in  Latin, 
maintaining  the  divine  right  of  kings  and  invoking  ven- 
geance upon  the  regicides  in  England.  The  royalists  de- 
clared the  argument  to  be  unanswerable;  and,  indeed,  it 
was  too  weighty  to  be  disregarded.  The  Council,  therefore, 
commanded  Milton  to  undertake  a  reply.  Accordingly  he 
prepared  his  Defensio  Populi  Anglicani.  In  elegant  Latinity 
he  proved  himself  the  equal  of  his  adversary  ;  in  vitupera- 
tion and  in  weight  of  argument,  he  was  adjudged  the 
superior,  and  he  received  public  thanks  for  the  victory  won. 


160  MILTON. 

It  is  said  that  the  death  of  Salmasius  was  hastened  by  the 
mortification  of  his  defeat.  But  Milton's  work  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  his  argument  had  hastened  the  loss  of  sight  which 
had  menaced  him  for  years.  Before  1654  he  was  totally 
blind  ;  however,  he  continued  to  write  many  of  the  more 
important  state-papers  until  the  year  of  the  Restoration, 
and  was  also  occupied  with  a  History  of  England,  with  a 
body  of  divinity,  and  perhaps  with  his  great  poem. 

Through  tracts  and  letters,  Milton  had  opposed  to  the 
last  the  return  of  the  monarchy.  The  Restoration  was  the 
signal  for  his  distress  and  persecution.  A  proclamation 
was  issued  against  him,  and  for  a  time  his  fate  was  un- 
certain ;  but  he  lived  in  concealment  until  the  passing  of 
the  Act  of  Indemnity  placed  him  in  safety.  *  From  that 
time  until  his  death  he  lived  in  retirement,  busily  occupied 

in  the  composition  of  Paradise  Lost,  and  Paradise 
1665.]     Regained.     The  former  of  these  wTorks  had  been 

his  principal  employment  for  about  seven  years. 
The  second  epic  and  the  tragedy  of  Samson  Agonistes  were 
published  in  the  year  1671.  On  the  8th  of  November,  1674, 
Milton  died.  He  was  buried  in  Cripplegate  Churchyard. 
His  first  wife  died  leaving  him  three  daughters  ;  his  second 
Katharine  Woodcock,  died  in  1658,  after  little  more  than 
a  year's  marriage  ;  but  the  third,  Elizabeth  Minshull,  whom 
he  espoused  in  1664,  survived  him  for  more  than  half  a 
century. 

Three  Periods  of  his  Literary  Career.  Milton's  literary 
career  divides  itself  into  three  great  periods, — that  of  his 
youth,  that  of  his  manhood,  and  that  of  his  old  age.  The 
first  may  be  roughly  stated  as  extending  from  1623  to  1640  ; 

*  "He  [Charles  II.  |  offered  to  reinstate  Milton  in  liis  office  of  .jovrrnment  advo- 
cate, if  In' would  deTOte  his  talents  to  the  cause  of  monarchy.  Hi-  wife  entreated 
htm  to  comply  with  thtfl  proposal.  'Yon  ma  wnm.m,'  replied  Milton,  'and  your 
thought*  dwell  on  the  domestic  interests  of  our  house  ;  I  think  only  of  posterity, 
and  I  will  die  consistently  with  my  character.'  "—Lamartint, 


MILTON.  161 

the  second  from  1640  to  1660,  the  date  of  the  Restoration; 
and  the  third  from  the  Restoration  to  the  poet's  death  in 
1674.  During  the  first  of  these  he  produced  most  of  his 
minor  poetical  works;  during  the  second  he  was  chiefly 
occupied  with  his  prose  controversies;  and  in  the  third  we 
see  him  slowly  elaborating  the  Paradise  Lost  (126-134),  the 
Paradise  Regained  (135),  and  the  Samson  Agonistes  (136). 

The  First  Period.  Those  qualities  which  distinguish 
Milton  from  all  other  poets  appear  in  his  earliest  produc- 
tions,— in  the  poetical  exercises  written  at  school  and  at 
college.  The  Hymn  on  the  Nativity,  composed  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  is  a  fit  prelude  to  the  Paradise  Lost.  With 
a  peculiar  grandeur  and  dignity  of  thought  he  combines 
an  exquisite,  though  somewhat  austere  harmony  and  grace. 
The  least  elaborate  of  his  efforts  are  characterized  by  a 
solemn,  stately  melody  of  versification  that  satisfies  the  ear 
like  the  sound  of  a  mighty  organ.  Apart  from  the  energy 
of  rhythm,  his  youthful  poems  are  mostly  tranquil,  tender, 
or  playful  in  tone. 

The  Masque  of  Comus  (122)  was  written  in  1634,  to  be 
performed  at  Ludlow  Castle  before  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater. 
The  Earl's  daughter  and  two  sons  had  lost  their  way  while 
walking  in  the  woods;  and  out  of  this  simple  incident 
Milton  wrote  the  most  beautiful  pastoral  drama  that  has 
yet  been  produced.  The  characters  are  few,  the  dramatic 
action  is  exceedingly  simple,  the  eloquence  is  pure  and 
musical,  and  the  songs  are  exquisitely  melodious.  In  this 
poem  are  suggestions  of  Fletcher's  Faithful  Shepherdess, 
and  of  the  Masques  and  the  Sad  Shepherd  of  Jon  son ;  but 
in  elevation  of  thought,  in  purity,  if  not  in  delineation 
of  natural  beauty,  Milton  has  far  surpassed  both  Jonson  and 
Fletcher. 

Lycidas,  an  elegy  (123),  was  a  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  Milton's  friend  and  fellow-student,  Edward  King,  who 
was  lost  at  sea  in  a  voyage  to  Ireland.    In  its  form,  as  well 


162  MILTON. 

as  in  the  irregular  and  ever-varying  music  of  its  verse,  may 
be  traced  the  influence  of  Milton's  study  of  Spenser  and  the 
Italian  classics.  This  poem  was  fiercely  condemned  by 
Samuel  Johnson.  He  declared  that  "no  man  could  have 
fancied  that  he  read  Lycidas  with  pleasure  had  he  not 
known  its  author."  But  few  who  read  the  poem  will 
accept  such  criticism.  For  force  of  imagination  and  ex- 
haust less  beauty  of  imagery  it  answers  to  a  true  poetio 
sensibility. 

The  two  descriptive  poems,  L  Allegro  (124)  and  II  Pense- 
roso  ( 125),  are  perhaps  the  best  known  and  best  appreciated 
of  all  Milton's  works.  They  are  of  nearly  the  same  length, 
and  are  perfect  counterparts.  L' Allegro  describes  scenery 
and  various  occupations  and  amusements  as  viewed  in  the 
light  of  a  joyous  and  vivacious  nature;  II  Penseroso  dwells 
upon  the  aspect  presented  by  similar  objects  to  a  person  of 
serious,  thoughtful  and  studious  character.  The  tone  of 
each  is  admirably  sustained ;  the  personality  of  the  poet 
appears  in  the  calm  cheerfulness  of  the  one,  as  well  as  in 
the  tranquil  meditativeness  of  the  othT.  His  joy  is  with- 
out frivolity;  his  pensive  though  tfuln  ess  is  without  gloom. 
But  no  analysis  can  do  justice  to  the  bold  yet  delicate  lines 
in  which  these  complementary  pictures  present  various  aspects 
of  nature — beautiful,  sublime,  smiling  or  terrible.  They  are 
inexhaustibly  suggestive  to  the  thoughtful  reader;  and  they 
have  been  justly  pronounced,  not  so  much  poems  as  stores 
of  imagery,  from  which  volumes  of  picturesque  description 
might  be  drawn.  Written  in  the  seclusion  of  his  home  at 
Horton,  they  are  fancies  about  mirth  and  melancholy  ;  they 
are  poems  of  theory,  not  of  observation.  They  show  us  how 
a  man  who  knew  neither  mirth  nor  melancholy  would  per- 
sonify them.  They  are  intellectual  studies  of  emotion,  not 
its  irrepressible  utterances. 

Milton's  Latin  and  Italian  poems  belong  principally  to 
his  youth ;  many  of  the  former  wrere  college  exercises.    Ho 


MILTON.  163 

has  had  no  rival  among  the  modern  writers  of  Latin  verse. 
The.  felicity  with  which  he  has  reproduced  the  diction  of 
classical  antiquity  is  equaled  only  by  the  perfection  with 
which  he  has  sustained  the  style  of  antique  thought. 

Shakespeare,  Spenser,  Sidney,  and  inferior  poets  had 
written  sonnets,  some  of  a  high  degree  of  beauty,  but  it 
was  reserved  for  Milton  to  transplant  into  his  native 
country  the  Italian  sonnet  in  its  highest  form.  He  has 
seldom  chosen  the  subject  of  Love;  religion,  patriotism, 
and  domestic  affection  are  his  favorite  themes;  and  most  of 
them  are  ennobled  by  that  sublime  gravity  which  was  char- 
acteristic of  his  mind.  Among  his  sonnets  the  following 
are  worthy  of  special  admiration:  I.  To  the  Nightingale ; 
VI.  and  VII.,  containing  noble  anticipations  of  his  poetical 
glory ;  XVI.,  a  recapitulation  of  Cromwell's  victories ; 
XVIII.,  On  the  Massacre  of  the  Protestants  in  Piedmont 
(138);  XIX.  and  XXIL,  on  his  own  blindness  (137). 

The  Second  Period.  The  second  period  of  Milton's  lit- 
erary life  was  filled  with  political  and  religious  controversy; 
and  in  the  voluminous  prose  works  which  were  its  results, 
we  see  the  ardor  of  his  convictions,  the  lofty  integrity 
of  his  character,  and  the  force  of  his  genius.  They  are 
crowded  with  erudition,  fused  into  a  glowing  mass  by  the 
fervor  of  enthusiasm.  Whether  in  Latin  or  in  English, 
their  style  is  remarkable  for  a  weighty  and  ornate  mag- 
nificence, cumbrous  and  pedantic  in  other  hands,  but  in 
his,  a  fit  armor  for  breadth  and  power  of  thought.  Milton 
seems  to  think  in  Latin.  The  length  and  involution  of 
his  sentences,  their  solemn  and  stately  march,  his  prefer- 
ence for  words  of  Latin  origin — all  contribute  to  make  him 
one  of  the  most  Latinic  of  English  authors.  This  quality, 
while  it  attests  his  learning,  has  combined  with  the  fact  that 
many  of  his  subjects  possessed  only  a  temporary  interest,  to 
exclude  his  prose  treatises  from   their  true  place  among 


164  MILTON. 

English  classics.  They  are  becoming  every  day  better  known 
to  the  general  reader.* 

The  Areopagitica,  addressed  to  the  English  Parliament 
in  defence  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  is  an  oration  after  the 
antique  models,  and  is  the  sublimest  plea  that  any  age  or 
country  has  produced  for  the  great  principle  of  freedom  of 
thought  and  opinion.  Its  almost  superhuman  eloquence  is 
rivaled  by  a  passage  in  the  pamphlet  Against  Prelaty,  in 
which  Milton  confutes  the  calumnies  of  his  foes  by  a 
glorious  epitome  of  his  studies,  projects,  and  literary  aspira- 
tions. The  tractate,  Of  Education,  embodies  a  beautiful 
but  Utopian  scheme  for  bringing  modern  educational  train- 
ing into  conformity  with  ancient  ideas.  Others  of  his  finest 
prose  treatises  are  the  Iconoclasles,  the  Defemio  Populi 
Anglicani,  Defensio  Secunda,  and  A  Ready  and  Easy  Way 
to  Establish  a  Free  Commonwealth. 

The  Third  Period.  There  is  no  spectacle  in  the  history 
of  literature  more  touching  and  sublime  than  Milton  blind, 
poor,  persecuted,  and  alone,  '  fallen  upon  evil  days  and 
evil  tongues,  in  darkness  and  with  dangers  compassed 
round,"  retiring  into  obscurity  to  compose  those  immortal 
epics,  Paradise  Lost  and  Paradise  Regained.  The  Paradise 
Lost  (126)  was  originally  composed  in  ten  books,  which 
were  afterwards  so  divided  as  to  make  twelve.  Its  com- 
position, though  the  work  was  probably  meditated  long 
before,!   occupied   about  seven  years,  from  1658  to  1665; 


*  "  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  prose  writings  of  Milton  should  in  our  time  be 
bo  little  read.  As  compositions,  they  deserve  the  attention  of  every  mi*,  who  wishes 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  full  power  of  the  English  language.  They  abound 
with  paiaigea  eompared  with  which  the  finest  deelaniations  of  Burke  sink  into 
Insignificance.  They  are  a  perfect  field  of  cloth  of  gold.  The  style  is  stiff  with 
gorgeous  embroidery."— Macaulay. 

t  According  to  Voltaire.  '•  Milton,  as  he  was  traveling  in  Italy,  in  his  youth,  saw 
at  Florence  a  comedy  called  Adamo.  The  subject  of  the  play  wa*  the  Fall  of  Man; 
the  actors,  God,  the  Angels,  Adam,  Eve,  the  Serpent.  Death,  and  the  seven  Mortal 


MILTON.  165 

and  it  was  first  published  in  1667.  Its  subject  is  the  grand- 
est that  ever  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive. 
The  entire  action  moves  among  celestial  and  infernal  per- 
sonages and  scenes ;  and  the  poet  does  not  hesitate  to  ushet 
us  into  the  awful  presence  of  Deity  itself. 

Argument  of  the  Poem.  In  Booh  Z,  after  the  proposition  of  the 
subject,— the  Fall  of  Man, — and  a  sublime  invocation,  the  council 
of  Satan  and  the  infernal  angels  is  described.  Their  determination 
to  oppose  the  designs  of  God  in  the  creation  of  the  Earth  and  the 
innocence  of  our  first  parents  are  then  stated,  and  the  book  closes 
with  a  description  of  the  erection  of  Pandemonium,  the  palace  of 
Satan.  Booh  II  records  the  debates  of  the  evil  spirits,  the  consent 
of  Satan  to  undertake  the  enterprise  of  temptation,  his  journey  to 
the  Gates  of  Hell,  which  he  finds  guarded  by  Sin  and  Death. 
Booh  III.  transports  us  to  Heaven,  where,  after  a  dialogue  between 
God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son,  the  latter  offers  himself  as  a 
propitiation  for  the  foreseen  disobedience  of  Adam.  In  the  latter 
portion  of  this  canto,  Satan  meets  Uriel,  the  angel  of  the  Sun,  and 
inquires  the  road  to  the  new-created  Earth,  where,  disguised  as 
an  angel  of  light,  he  descends.  Booh  IV.  brings  Satan  to  the  sight 
of  Paradise,  and  contains  the  picture  of  the  innocence  and  happiness 
of  Adam  and  Eve.  The  angels  set  a  guard  over  Eden,  and  Satan 
is  arrested  while  endeavoring  to  tempt  Eve  in  a  dream.  He  is 
allowed  to  escape.  In  Booh  V.  Eve  relates  her  dream  to  Adam, 
who  comforts  her  ;  and  they,  after  their  morning  prayer,  proceed  to 
their  daily  employment.  They  are  visited  by  the  angel  Raphael, 
sent  to  warn  them  ;  and  he  relates  to  Adam  the  story  of  the  revolt 


Sins.  That  topic,  so  improper  for  a  drama,  was  handled  in  a  manner  entirely  con- 
formable to  the  extravagance  of  the  design.  The  scene  opens  with  a  chorus  ol 
angels,  and  a  cherub  thus  speaks  for  the  rest:  Let  the  rainbow  be  the  fiddlestick  of 
the  heavens  !  Let  the  planets  be  the  notes  of  our  music  !  Let  time  beat  carefully  the 
measure^  etc.  Thus  the  play  begins,  and  every  scene  rises  above  the  last  in  pro- 
fusion of  impertinence.  Milton  pierced  through  the  absurdity  of  that  performance 
to  the  hidden  majesty  of  the  subject:  which,  being  altogether  unfit  for  the  stage, 
yet  might  be,  for  the  genius  of  Milton,  and  his  only,  the  foundation  of  an  epic 
poem.  He  took  from  that  ridiculous  trifle  the  first  hint  of  the  noblest  work  which 
human  imagination  has  ever  attempted,  and  which  he  executed  more  than  twentj 
years  after." 


166  MILTON. 

of  Satan  and  the  disobedient  angels.  In  Booh  VI.  the  narrative 
of  Raphael  is  continued.  Booh  VII.  is  devoted  to  the  account  of 
the  creation  of  the  world,  giveu  by  Raphael,  at  Adam's  request.  In 
Booh  VIII.  Adam  describes  to  the  angel  his  own  state  and  recollec- 
tions, his  meeting  with  Eve,  and  their  union.  The  action  of  Bool 
IX.  is  the  temptation,  first  of  Eve,  and  then,  through  her,  of  Adam. 
Booh  X.  contains  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  Adam  and  Eve. 
Satan,  triumphant,  returns  to  Pandemonium,  but  not  before  Sin  and 
Death  construct  a  causeway  through  Chaos  to  Earth.  Satan  re- 
counts his  success,  but  he  and  all  his  angels  are  transformed  into 
serpents.  Adam  and  Eve  bewail  their  fault,  and  determine  to 
implore  pardon.  Booh  XI.  relates  the  acceptance  of  Adam's 
repentance  by  the  Almighty,  who,  however,  commands  that  he  be 
expelled  from  Paradise.  The  angel  Michael  is  sent  to  reveal  to 
Adam  the  consequences  of  his  transgression.  Eve  laments  her 
exile  from  Eden,  and  Michael  shows  Adam  in  a  vision  the  destiny  of 
man  before  the  Flood.  Booh  XII.  continues  the  prophetic  picture 
shown  to  Adam  by  Michael  of  the  fate  of  the  human  race  from  the 
Flood.  Adam  is  comforted  by  the  account  of  the  redemption  of 
man,  and  by  the  destinies  of  the  Church.  The  poem  terminates 
with  the  wandering  forth  of  our  first  parents  from  Paradise. 

No  synopsis  can  satisfy  the  reader  or  assist  him  materially 
in  comprehending  the  poem.  Nothing  but  an  acquaintance 
with  the  work  itself  would  suffice. 

The  peculiar  form  of  blank  verse  in  which  Paradise  Lost 
and  Paradise  Regained  are  written,  was  first  adapted  to 
epic  poetry  by  Milton.  He  has  gifted  it  with  a  distinctive 
tone  and  rhythm,  solemn,  dignified  and  sonorous,  yet  of 
musical  and  ever-varying  cadence,  and  as  delicately  respon- 
sive to  the  sentiments  it  embodies  as  the  harmonies  of  the 
Homeric  hexameter.  Where  it  suited  his  purpose,  he  closely 
followed  the  severe  condensation  of  the  Scriptural  narrative ; 
but  where  his  subject  required  him  to  give  freedom  to  his 
thought,  he  showed  that  no  poet  ever  surpassed  him  in 
fertility  of  conception,  that  no  poet  ever  saw  the  splendors 
of  a  more  glorious  vision.    In  alluding  to  the  blending  of 


MILTON.  16? 

Bimple  Scriptural  story  with  imagination  in  Paradise  Lost, 
Lamartine  pronounces  the  poem  "the  dream  of  a  Puritan 
who  has  fallen  asleep  over  the  first  pages  of  his  Bible." 
The  description  of  the  fallen  angels,  the  splendor  of  Heaven, 
the  horrors  of  hell,  the  loveliness  of  Paradise,  as  exhibited 
in  the  poem,  pass  the  bounds  of  earfchly  experience  and  give 
us  scenes  of  superhuman  beauty  or  horror,  that  are  pre- 
sented to  the  eye  with  a  vividness  rivaling  that  of  the 
memory  itself.  Milton's  Satan  (127)  is  no  caricature  of  the 
demon  of  vulgar  superstition;  he  is  not  less  than  archangel, 
though  archangel  ruined  ;  he  is  invested,  by  the  poet,  with 
the  most  lofty  and  terrible  attributes  of  the  divinities  of 
classical  mythology.  Milton  is  pre-eminently  the  poet  of 
the  learned  ;  for  however  imposing  his  pictures  maybe  even 
to  the  most  uncultivated  mind,  it  is  only  to  a  reader  who 
is  familiar  with  classical  and  Biblical  literature  that  he  dis- 
plays his  full  powers. 

Dryden  and  many  later  critics  have  criticised  the  subject 
of  this  epic  poem,  inasmuch  as  it  makes  Adam  but  the 
nominal  hero,  while  Satan  is  the  real  one.  The  inferior 
nature  of  man,  as  compared  with  the  powers  by  which  he 
is  surrounded,  reduces  him,  apparently,  to  a  secondary  part 
in  the  action  of  the  poem.* 

After  Milton's  retirement  from  public  life  he  was  sought 
out  by  scholarly  foreigners,  who  were  curious  to  see  him 
on  account  of  the  fame  of  his  learning ;  and  he  received 
loving  and  admiring  attention  from  many  of  his  own 
countrymen.    Among  them  was  Thomas  Ellwood,  a  Friend, 

*  It  seems  probable  that  Milton  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  a  publisher  for  his 
epic  ;  but  in  1667  he  effected  a  sale  of  the  copyright  to  Samuel  Symons.  By  the 
terms  of  the  sale,  Milton  was  to  receive  five  pounds  on  signing  the  agreement,  five 
pounds  more  on  the  sale  of  a  first  edition  of  thirteen  hundred  copies,  and  five 
pounds  for  each  of  the  two  following  editions  when  they  should  be  exhausted.  He 
lived  to  receive  the  second  payment.  In  1680  his  widow  sold  to  the  publisher  all 
of  her  "  right,  title,  and  interest "  in  the  work  for  eight  pounds  ;  so  that  the 
author  and  his  heirs  received  but  eighteen  pounds  for  the  grandest  poem  of  out 
literature. 


168  MILTON. 

who  frequently  read  Latin  books  to  the  blind  poet.  One 
day  Milton  handed  him  a  manuscript,  and  asked  him  to 
read  it  with  care.  Upon  returning  it,  Ellwood  said,  '•  Thou 
hast  said  much  here  of  Paradise  Lost,  but  what  has  thou 
to  say  to  Paradise  Found?"  This  question  suggested  to 
Milton  the  writing  of  Paradise  Regained.  By  general  con- 
sent the  second  epic  is  placed  far  below  the  first  in  point  of 
interest  and  variety;  still  it  displays  the  same  solemn 
grandeur,  the  same  lofty  imagination,  the  same  vast  learn- 
ing. Christ's  Temptation  in  the  Wilderness  is  the  theme, 
and  the  narrative  of  that  incident,  as  recorded  in  the  fourth 
chapter  of  St.  Matthew's  gospel,  is  closely  followed.  This 
poem  is  said  to  have  been  preferred  to  the  grander  epic  in 
the  esteem  of  the  poet  himself. 

The  noble  and  pathetic  tragedy  of  Samson  Agonistes 
(136)  belongs  to  the  closing  period  of  Milton's  literary 
career.  It  is  constructed  according  to  the  strictest  rules  of 
the  Greek  drama.  In  the  character  of  the  hero,  his  blind- 
ness, his  sufferings,  and  his  resignation  to  the  will  of  God, 
Milton  has  given  a  most  touching  representation  of  his  old 
age.*  So  closely  has  Milton  copied  all  the  details  of  the 
ancient  dramas,  that  there  is  no  exaggeration  in  saying  that 
a  modern  reader  will  obtain  a  more  exact  impression  of  what 
a  Greek  tragedy  was,  from  the  study  of  Samson  Agonistes, 
than  from  the  most  faithful  translation  of  Sophocles  or 
Euripides. 

*  •*  They  charge  me  "—thus  he  wrote  to  one  of  his  friends,  a  foreigner—"  they 
charge  me  with  poverty  hecausc  I  have  never  desired  to  become  rich  dishonestly; 
they  accuse  me  of  blindness  because  I  have  lost  my  eyes  in  the  service  of  liberty  ; 
they  tax  me  with  cowardice,  and  while  I  had  the  nee  of  my  eyee  and  myawoH  r 

never  (cured  the  boldest  anions  them;  Anally,  T  am  upbraided  with  deformity, 
while  no  one  was  more  handsome  in  the  age  of  beauty.  I  do  not  even  complain  of 
my  want  of  eight  ■  in  the  night  with  which  T  am  surrounded,  the  Ught  of  the  divine 
preeeaoe  shines  with  a  more  brilliant  lustre.  God  looks  down  upon  me  with  ten- 
derness and  compassion,  because  I  can  now  see  none  but  himself.  Misfortune 
should  protect  me  from  insult,  and  render  me  sacred;  not  becau-e  I  am  deprived 
of  the  light  of  hca\er.  but  beeMM  I  am  under  the  shadow  of  the  divine  wing^ 
which  have  enveloped  me  with  this  darknes«." 


MILTON.  169 

His  Solitariness.  The  last  years  of  Milton's  life,  in  which 
darkness  nestled  him  under  her  wing,  are  a  reminder  of  the 
tact  that  the  world  from  which  he  was  thus  shut  out  had 
not  then,  nor  has  since  had,  nor  will  ever  have,  a  distinct 
view  of  him.  Milton's  soul  was  the  soul  of  a  recluse.  He 
was  in,  but  not  of,  the  seventeenth  century.  In  moral  and 
in  intellectual  power  he  was  a  giant,  beside  whom  his  con- 
temporaries were  pigmies.  The  beauty  and  dignity  of  his 
life  were  such  as  might  be  looked  for  in  a  man  chosen  from 
some  lofty  and  bracing  epoch  of  history  j  and  we  are  sur- 
prised at  finding  him  in  that  sickly  age,  breathing  the 
miasma  that  brought  disease  to  other  men.  He  was  mirac- 
ulously kept  from  the  religious  fever  that  made  some  men 
insane,  and  from  the  taint  of  the  moral  plague  that  made 
others  loathsome.  This  exemption  makes  his  life  some- 
what a  mystery,  and  the  effect  of  the  mystery  is  heightened 
by  the  purity  and  elevation  of  his  thought,  and  by  the 
glittering  magnificence  of  his  style. 

Although  we  know  much  about  Milton,  we  do  not  know 
him.  We  do  not  hope  to  commune  closely  with  him.  He 
seems  to  us  a  little  more  than  human.  When  we  have  read 
the  loftiest  praises  of  him  we  feel  that  the  critic  has  failed 
of  reaching  the  elevation  which  a  just  criticism  of  Milton 
should  attain.  The  rhetoric,  the  enthusiasm  of  Macaulay, 
do  not  cast  as  clear  a  light  as  we  could  wish  for,  in  viewing 
"  the  genius  and  virtues  of  John  Milton,  the  poet,  the  states- 
man, the  philosopher,  the  glory  of  English  literature,  the 
champion  and  the  martyr  of  English  liberty."  There  is  a 
grandeur  in  the  man  that  cannot  be  fitly  described  by  the 
flushed  fancy  and  the  lavish  strength  of  the  rhetorician's 
grandest  periods.  There  is  something  about  him  that 
crowds  our  capacity  for  admiring,  and  yet  forbids  the 
familiar  acquaintance  that  would  give  us  rapturous  love  for 
him.  Our  ideal  of  him  is  less  satisfactory  than  our  ideal  of 
any  other  of  the  great  men  in  our  literature  ;  and  the  cause 
8 


170  MILTON". 

of  his  eluding  us  is  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was  a  recluse. 
Wordsworth  truly  said  of  him, 

M  Thy  eoul  was  like  a  star  and  dwelt  apart." 

The  mystery  that  is  about  him,  the  haughtiness  that  some 
critics  detect  in  him,  the  grandeur  that  evades  analysis,  and 
the  strange  reverence  felt  by  all  who  study  him,  are  trace- 
able to  an  awe-inspiring  peculiarity  that  may  be  described  as 
the  loneliness  of  Milton.  The  companionships  of  other  historic 
characters  help  the  student;  but  Milton  seems  to  have  been 
without  intimacies:  the  social  temptations  to  which  they 
yielded  or  over  which  they  were  victorious,  the  constancy  or 
inconstancy  of  their  friendships,  the  influence  that  they 
exerted  over  those  who  loved  them,  give  us  an  idea  of  what 
our  attitude  would  have  been  towards  them,  had  we  been 
of  their  company.  But  where  shall  we  find  the  men  who 
had  intimate  friendship  with  Milton.  His  loneliness  was 
recognized  and  respected.  His  fellow-students  at  the  uni- 
versity detected  something  peculiarly  unlike  themselves  in 
him,  and  named  him  "The  Lady  of  the  College."  The 
gentlewoman  who  came  to  his  house  to  be  his  wife  soon 
found  that  she  could  not  intrude  upon  his  solitude.  Amid 
the  excitement  of  the  Civil  War  he  seems  to  have  been 
companionless  ;  and  when  the  victory  had  brought  joy  to 
all  other  men  of  his  political  party  he  was  found  in  t he 
seclusion  of  his  quiet  study,  and  was  summoned  to  the 
public  service  of  the  state.  During  the  years  of  the  Com- 
monwealth two  men  rise  superior  to  all  other  Englishmen, — 
the  man  of  action,  Cromwell;  and  the  man  of  thought, 
Milton.  Although  mutually  dependent,  they  were  not 
intimate  companions,  for  Milton  stood  in  intellectual  isola- 
tion. When  the  days  of  blindness  aud  poverty  and  threaten- 
ings  came  to  him  and  he  was  in  his  hiding-place,  he  was  not 
withdrawn  further  than  he  had  ever  been  from  the  world. 
His  whole  career  was  separate  from  the  intimate  acquaint- 


MILTON.  171 

ance  of  men.  His  religious  opinions  would  have  been 
acceptable  to  neither  party.  Although  he  was  a  Puritan  in 
politics,  his  theology  would  have  been  criminal  heresy  to 
the  Puritans.  In  forming  his  political  opinions  he  was  not 
influenced  by  the  same  motives  which  swayed  the  men  of  his 
party ;  they  beheaded  Charles  I.  because  he  was  the  leader 
of  a  hated  church  ;  Milton  justified  the  regicide  because  the 
unconstitutional  exercise  of  regal  power  is  insulting  to 
nationality.  It  is  this  lack  of  affinity  between  Milton  and 
other  men,  this  want  of  contact  between  him  and  the  world, 
this  independence  in  political,  poetical,  and  religious  think- 
ing— this  loneliness  of  the  man — that  gives  a  peculiar 
dignity  to  his  character,  that  overawes  our  love,  and  forbids 
our  thorough  knowledge  of  him. 

The  student  is  referred  to  Masson's  Life  of  Milton,— Dr.  Johnson's  Life  of 
Milton,— De  Quincey's  Life  of  Milton  — Hallani's  History  of  Literature,  Vol.  IV.,— 
Macaulay's  Essay  on  Milton,— Lamartine's  Celebrated  Characters,— Channing's 
Essay  on  Milton,— Reed's  Lectures  on  the  British  Poets,  Vol.  I.,— Hazlitt's  Lectures 
on  the  English  Poets,  -Lowell's  Essay  on  Milton  and  Shakespeare,  North  American 
Review,  April,  1868,— the  article  on  Milton  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,— 
Campbell's  Specimens  of  the  British  Poets,— Taine's  English  Literature,— Lan- 
dor's  Works,— Masson's  Essays  on  the  English  Poets,— and  Addison's  criticisms 
on  Paradise  Lost  in  The  Spectator,  Nos.  267,  273,  279,  285,  291,  297,  303,  309,  315,  321, 
g27.  im,  339,  345,  351,  359,  363,  369. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

John  Milton. 

1.  His  Services  to  the  Government. 

2.  Three  Periods  of  His  Literary  Career* 

3.  The  Argument  of  Paradise  Lost. 

4.  Milton's  Solitariness* 


CHAPTEB  XV. 

THE   LITERATURE   OF  THE   RESTORATION. 

FOR  worthlessness  of  character  and  for  the  shamefulness  of  big 
public  life,  Charles  II.,  the  prince  to  whom  the  crown  of  the 

Stuarts  was  restored,  stands  without  a  rival  in  the  line  of 
1660.]     English  kings.     During  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth  he 

had  found  refuge  on  the  Continent.  His  good-nature  and 
his  rank  had  won  him  hosts  of  friends ;  but  as  he  was  wanting  in 
dignity  of  character,  his  friendships  were  not  with  the  good.  When 
he  ascended  the  throne  he  inaugurated  a  reign  of  debauchery  and 
shame.  The  dissipated  companions  of  his  exile,  and  foreign  adven- 
turers who  had  fastened  themselves  upon  him,  were  the  favorites 
of  his  Court.  His  ambition  was  to  ensure  these  worthless  courtiers 
a  good  time.  The  gambler,  the  drunkard,  and  the  libertine,  found 
him  ever  ready  to  give  them  the  royal  smile  and  to  join  them  in 
their  criminal  pleasures.  Patriotism  made  no  successful  appeal  to 
him.  Decency  fled  from  his  presence.  His  halls  of  state  were 
lavishly  furnished,  the  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  the  rollicking 
king  welcomed  his  subjects  to  his  presence,  where  they  could  hear 
the  profanity,  could  see  the  drunkenness  and  could  suspect  the 
baser  infamies  of  the  highest  circle  of  English  life.  Under  Crom- 
well's government  severe  restraints  had  been  thrown  about  the 
people.  Public  amusements  had  been  forbidden.  Many  innocent 
pleasures  had  been  denounced.  And  now  the  Court  laughed 
loudest  at  the  unreasonable  severity  of  the  Puritans,  and  went  to 
the  farthest  reach  in  a  reckless  pursuit  of  pleasure.  The  effect  of 
such  a  revolution  at  court  was  immediate  and  fearful.  The  nation 
plunged  madly  into  excesses. 

Popular  literature  in  any  generation  is  but  the  reflection  of  that 
generation's  thought,  and  so  we  must  expect  to  hud  that  the 
applauded  writers  of  the  time  of  Charles  H.  are  men  who  laugh  at 


SAMUEL     BUTLER.  173 

seriousness  and  apologize  for  vice.  The  drama  of  the  time,  as  it 
appealed  most  directly  to  popular  attention,  was  indecent ;  but 
whatever  writings  came  from  other  than  Puritan  pens  were  tainted 
with  the  disease  of  the  Court. 

Samuel  Butler.  The  most  illustrious  literary  representative  of 
the  party  of  the  Cavaliers  is  Samuel  Butler  (1612-1680).  When 
more  than  fifty  years  of  age,  after  witnessing  the  success  and  the 
failure  of  the  Puritans,  he  wrote  a  satire  upon  their  follies  in  which 
he  subjected  them  to  a  ridicule  so  keen  that  his  work  still  holds  an 
eminent  place  in  our  literature  of  satire.  His  early  life  was  passed 
in  obscurity.  He  was  of  lowly  parentage.  Lack  of  funds  cut  short 
his  stay  at  the  University  of  Cambridge ;  still  he  was  there  long 
enough  to  acquire  some  of  the  learning  displayed  in  his  works. 
For  several  years  he  was  clerk  in  the  office  of  a  country  justice,  and 
afterwards  became  a  secretary  in  the  service  of  the  Countess  of 
Kent.  In  these  positions  he  found  opportunities  for  study  and  foi 
intercourse  with  scholarly  and  accomplished  men.  Next  we  find 
him  a  tutor  in  the  family  of  Sir  Samuel  Luke,  a  wealthy  gentle- 
man of  Bedfordshire,  who,  as  a  violent  republican  member  of 
Parliament,  and  as  one  of  Cromwell's  satraps,  took  an  active  part 
in  the  agitations  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  the  person  of  this 
dignitary  Butler  probably  saw  the  most  radical  type  of  Puritan 
character. 

The  Restoration  brought  Butler  no  special  reward  for  his  loyalty. 
He  became  secretary  to  Lord  Carbury,  and  for  some  time  acted  as 
steward  of  Ludlow  Castle;  but  this  situation  was  neither  perma- 
nent nor  lucrative. 

1662.]  Hudibras.  It  was  in  1662  that  he  published  the  first 
part  of  Hudibras ;  and  the  second  part  followed  in  1664. 
The  poem  soon  became  the  popular  book  of  the  day ;  for  its  wit 
and  ingenuity  won  the  praise  of  the  critics,  while  its  tone  and 
subject  flattered  the  vindictive  triumph  of  the  royalists.  Charles  II. 
carried  it  about  in  his  pocket,  and  was  constantly  quoting  and 
admiring  it;  but  all  efforts  to  secure  patronage  for  its  author, 
either  from  the  king  or  his  favorites,  proved  fruitless.  A  fatality 
combined  with  the  usual  ingratitude  of  the  Court  to  leave  the  great 
wit  in  his  poverty  and  obscurity.     Two  years  after  the  appearance 


174  SAMUEL    BUTLER. 

of  the  third  part  of  his  famous  work  he  died  in  1680,  at  a  miserable 
lodging  in  London ;  and  the  expenses  of  his  modest  burial  were 
defrayed  by  a  friend. 

Hudibras  is  a  burlesque  satire  upon  the  Puritan  party,  and 
especially  upon  its  two  dominant  sects, — Presbyterians  and  Inde- 
pendents. It  describes  the  adventures  of  a  fanatical  justice  of  the 
peace  and  his  clerk,  who  sally  forth,  in  knight-errant  style,  to 
enforce  the  violent  and  oppressive  enactments  of  the  Rump  Parlia- 
ment against  the  popular  amusements.  Sir  Hudibras,  the  hero, — 
in  all  probability  a  caricature  of  Sir  Samuel  Luke,  Butler's  whilom 
employer— represents  the  Presbyterians.  He  is  depicted  as,  in 
mind,  character,  person  and  bearing,  a  grotesque  compound  of 
pedantry,  ugliness,  hypocrisy  and  cowardice;  his  clerk,  Ralph, 
is  sketched  with  equal  unction  as  the  type  of  the  sour,  wrong- 
headed,  but  more  enthusiastic  Independents.  The  doughty  pair 
having  set  out  on  their  crusade,  first  encounter  a  crowd  of  raga- 
muffins who  are  leading  a  bear  to  be  "baited,"  and  refuse  to 
disperse  at  the  knight's  command.  A  furious  mock-heroic  battle 
ensues,  in  which  Hudibras  is  finally  victorious.  He  puts  the  chief 
delinquents  in  the  parish  stocks ;  but  their  comrades  soon  return 
to  the  charge,  set  them  free,  and  imprison  the  knight  and  squire. 
They  are  in  turn  liberated  by  a  rich  widow,  to  whom  the  knight 
is  paying  court.  Hudibras  afterwards  visits  the  lady;  and  her 
servants,  in  the  disguise  of  devils,  give  him  a  sound  beating.  He 
consults  a  lawyer  and  an  astrologer,  to  obtain  revenge  and  satisfac- 
tion ;  and  at  that  point  the  narration  breaks  off,  incomplete. 

Evidently  the  fundamental  idea  of  this  poem  was  suggested  by 
the  Bon  Quixote  of  Cervantes ;  but  its  spirit  and  the  style  of  its 
development  are  entirely  original.  Cervantes  makes  his  hero 
laughable,  without  impairing  our  respect  for  his  noble  and  heroic 
character;  Butler  invests  his  personages  with  the  utmost  degree  of 
odium  that  is  compatible  with  the  sentiment  of  the  ludicrous.  As 
his  object  was  exclusively  satirical,  he  could  not  and  did  not  con- 
sider any  of  the  noble  qualities  of  the  fanatics  whom  he  attacked. 
Hudibra*  is  the  best  burlesque  in  the  English  language.  "The 
same  amount  of  learning,  wit,  shrewdness,  ingenious  and  deep 
thought,  felicitous  illustration  and  irresistible  drollery  has  never 
[elsewhere]  been  comprised  in  the  same  limits." 

Butler's  style  is  at  once  concise  and  suggestive;   many   of  his 


JOHN     BUNYAK.  175 

expressions  have  the  terse  strength  of  proverbs,  and  at  the  same 
time  open  boundless  vistas  of  comic  association.  His  language  is 
easy,  conversational,  careless ;  familiar  and  even  vulgar  words  arc 
found  side  by  side  with  the  pedantic  terms  of  art  and  learning ;  the 
short  octosyllabic  verse  moves  with  unflagging  vivacity ;  and  the 
constant  recurrence  of  fantastic  rhymes  tickles  the  fancy.  Yet, 
ilthough  no  English  author  was  ever  more  witty  than  Butler,  he  is 
utterly  destitute  of  genial  humor;  his  analysis  of  character  is 
pitilessly  keen  and  clear ;  but  he  shows  no  power  in  sustaining  the 
interest  of  a  story.  Hence  he  neither  enlists  our  sympathy  nor 
attracts  that  curiosity  which  is  gratified  by  a  well-developed  in- 
trigue. u  If  inexhaustible  wit  could  give  perpetual  pleasure," 
says  Johnson,  "no  eye  could  ever  leave  half-read  the  work  of 
Butler ;  .  *  .  .  .  however,  astonishment  soon  becomes  a 
toilsome  pleasure,  and  the  paucity  of  events  fatigues  the  attention 
and  makes  the  perusal  of  the  book  tedious." 

Among  Butler's  miscellaneous  writings  which  were  published 
after  his  death,  the  most  entertaining  are  a  series  of  prose  sketches. 
Many  of  his  posthumous  poems  are  caustic  and  undiscriminating 
satires  upon  the  physical  investigators  of  his  day.  He  is  par- 
ticularly severe  upon  the  Royal  Society,  which  he  ridicules  in  his 
Elephant  in  the  Moon. 

John  Bunyan  (1628-1688.)  In  this  age  of  debauchery,  John 
Bunyan,  the  master  of  religious  allegory,  appeared.  He  came  from 
the  lowest  grade  of  social  life,  grew  up  to  manhood  with  an  educa- 
tion so  meagre  that  he  barely  knew  how  to  read  and  write,  and 
yet  he  produced  a  work  which  places  him  foremost  among  the 
writers  of  his  class.  What  Shakespeare  is  to  English  dramatists, 
what  Milton  is  to  English  epic  poets,  that  John  Bunyan  is  to 
writers  of  English  allegory.  In  this  department  of  our  literature 
none  approach  him. 

He  was  the  son  of  a  poor  Bedfordshire  tinker,  and  followed  his 
father's  trade  until  his  eighteenth  year.  He  then  served  for  a  few 
months  in  the  Parliamentary  army.  Returning  to  his  native  vil- 
lage, Elstow,  he  married  "  one  as  poor  as  himself."  He  says  that 
u  they  had  neither  dish  nor  spoon  betwixt  them."  Until  this  time 
Bunyan's  course  of  life  had  been  the  ordinary  one  of  a  poor, 
uneducated  village  lad,  stained  with  the  vice  of  profanity,  and 


176  JOHN     BUNYAN. 

too  much  given  to  rough  sports.  Doubtless  his  follies  had  often 
been  denounced  as  heinous  sins  by  the  earnest  Puritans  of  his 
acquaintance.  His  young  wife  was  a  devout  woman,  and  she 
sought  his  reformation.  By  inducing  him  to  read  two  religious 
book*  bequeathed  to  her  by  a  dying  father,  and  by  leading  him  to 
the  church  of  which  she  was  a  member,  she  succeeded  in  awaken- 
ing his  anxiety  concerning  the  future  life.  Once  aroused,  his  sensi- 
tive and  imaginative  soul  could  not  rest.  For  about  two  years  his 
mind  was  in  a  state  of  intense  gloom,  tormented  with  fears  for 
his  eternal  welfare,  and  perplexed  with  the  theological  quandaries 
of  the  day.  Finally,  by  what  he  always  deemed  a  special  exercise 
of  divine  mercy,  his  soul  found  peace.  He  united  with  the  Baptist 
church  of  Bedford,  and,  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  his  fellow- 
members,  he  availed  himself  of  his  journeyings  as  a  tinker  to 
exercise  the  vocation  of  a  preacher.  The  fervent  piety  and  rude 
eloquence  of  his  discourses  gradually  gained  him  wide  reputation, 
and  he  became  a  leading  man  among  the  Baptists.  As  such  he  was 
exposed  to  rigorous  persecution ;  for  Dissenters  were  regarded  by 
the  government  of  Charles  II.  as  in  sympathy  with  republican 
doctrines.  In  1660,  having  been  arrested  and  convicted  as  a 
"common  upholder  of  conventicles,"  he  was  shut  up  in  Bedford 
jail.  There  he  remained  for  twelve  years,  steadfastly  refusing  to 
purchase  freedom  by  a  sacrifice  of  his  faith.  The  weary  years  were 
spent  in  working  for  the  support  of  his  family  and  in  writing 
religious  books.  His  patient  and  cheerful  piety  so  won  the  con- 
fidence of  his  keepers  that,  during  the  last  two  years  of  his  confine- 
ment, he  was  often  allowed  to  leave  the  prison.  In  1671  he  was 
chosen  preacher  of  the  Baptist  congregation  in  Bedford.  A  year 
later,  When  liberated  by  the  royal  proclamation  of  religious  tolera- 
tion, he  entered  upon  his  pastoral  labors  with  energy,  and  prose- 
cuted them  to  the  end  of  his  life.  The  fame  of  his  sufferings,  his 
genius  as  a  writer,  his  power  as  a  speaker,  gave  him  unbounded 
influence  among  the  Baptists;  while  the  beauty  of  his  character 
and  the  catholic  liberality  of  his  views  secured  him  universal 
esteem.  His  ministrations  extended  over  the  whole  region  between 
Bedford  and  London,  and  involved  occasional  visits  to  the  metrop- 
olis itself.  It  was  in  London  that  his  death  occurred,  in  1688, 
having  been  hastened  by  the  exposure  and  fatigue  of  a  journey 
which  he  had  undertaken  for  the  benevolent  purpose  of  reconciling 
a  father  and  son. 


JOHN     BUN  Y  AN".  177 

Bunyan's  works  are  numerous,  and  entirely  of  a  religious  char- 
acter. Only  three  among  them  demand  our  special  notice, — the 
religious  autobiography  entitled  Grace  Abounding  to  the  Chief  of 
Sinners,  and  the  two  religious  allegories,  Pilgrim's  Progress  and 
the  Holy  War.  The  first  gives  a  candid  account  of  Bunyan's  own 
conversion,  portraying  in  detail  the  struggles  of  a  human  soul 
striving  to  burst  its  bonds  of  sin  and  worldliness.  It  contains  pas- 
sages of  sublime  simplicity  and  pathos.  The  picture  has  interest 
for  the  philosopher  of  mind  as  well  as  for  the  religious  devotee  ; 
though  it  is  evident  that  both  its  lights  and  shades  have  been 
exaggerated  by  the  enthusiasm  of  Bunyan's  character.  He  was  a 
dreamer ;  and  from  his  childhood,  as  he  tells  us  in  this  book,  he 
had  been  haunted  by  fearful  visions  of  the  lake  of  fire. 

The  Pilgrim's  Progress  from  this  World  to  that  which  Is 
to  Come  (155)  narrates  the  experience  of  a  Christian  in  going  from 
a  life  of  sin  to  everlasting  bliss.  Christian,  dwelling  in  the  City  of 
Destruction,  is  incited  by  an  agonizing  consciousness  of  his  lost 
estate  to  journey  towards  the  New  Jerusalem.  All  the  adventures 
of  his  travels,  the  scenes  through  which 'he  passes,  the  friends  and 
fellow- pilgrims  whom  he  finds  upon  the  road,  typify  the  joys  and 
trials  of  a  religious  life.  Bunyan's  imaginary  persons  excite  all  the 
interest  and  sympathy  which  belong  to  human  beings.  The  doc- 
trine of  salvation  by  grace  is  the  burden  of  his  thought  and  the 
moral  of  his  story ;  he  writes  for  sinners  perishing  in  an  abyss  whence 
he  has  been  snatched.  This  makes  him  direct,  fervent,  pathetic. 
Occasionally,  too,  a  vein  of  rich  humor,  outcropping  in  argument 
or  description,  indicates  the  genial  healthfulness  of  his  mind,  and 
draws  him  into  closer  sympathy  with  his  readers. 

■  Ingenious  dreamer  I  in  whose  well-told  tale 
Sweet  fiction  and  sweet  truth  alike  prevail ; 
Whose  humorous  vein,  strong  sense,  and  simple  style 
May  teach  the  gayest,  make  the  gravest  smile  ; 
Witty  and  well  employed,  and  like  thy  Lord 
Speaking  in  parables  his  slighted  word."—  Cowper. 

He  had  read  but  few  books  ;  the  Bible  and  Fox's  Booh  of  Martyrs 
comprised  his  entire  library  during  the  twelve  years  of  his  impris- 
onment. He  is  said  to  have  known  the  former  almost  by  heart. 
That  his  mind  was  saturated  with  its  spirit  is  indicated  by  th« 
mode  of  his  thinking,  by  the  character  of  his  imagery,  by  the  very 


178  IZAAK     WALTON". 

form  of  his  expression.  His  style  is  nervous,  plain,  idiomatic ;  it 
derives  strength  and  terseness  from  its  large  proportion  of  Saxon 
words;  is  often  picturesque  and  poetical,  sometimes  ungram- 
matical;  but  it  is  always  that  language  of  the  common  people  which 
attains  its  highest  vigor  and  purity  in  the  English  Bible.  Macaulay 
says  that  "  the  style  is  delightful  to  every  reader,  and  invaluable 
as  a  study  to  every  person  who  wishes  to  obtain  a  quick  command 
over  the  English  language.  The  vocabulary  is  the  vocabulary 
of  the  common  people.  There  is  not  an  expression,  if  we  except  a 
few  technical  terms  of  theology,  which  would  puzzle  the  rudest 
peasant.  We  have  observed  several  pages  which  do  not  contain  a 
single  word  of  more  than  two  syllables.'' 

Pilgrim's  Progress  is  in  two  parts.  The  first  was  written  in 
Bedford  jail,  to  "  divert  Bunyan's  vacant  seasons,"  and  was 
1678]  published  in  1678.  Its  popularity  was  most  remarkable. 
After  it  had  passed  through  eight  editions,  Bunyan  incor- 
porated with  it  the  second  part,  in  which  the  celestial  pilgrimage 
is  accomplished  by  Christian's  wife  and  children  whom  he  had  left 
in  the  City  of  Destruction..  From  that  day  till  this  its  popularity 
has  continued;  childhood  and  old  age  find  delight  in  its  story. 
Its  translation  may  be  found  in  every  language  w7hich  contains  a 
religious  literature. 

The  Holy  War  is  an  allegory  typifying,  in  the  siege  and  capture 
of  the  City  of  Mansoul,  the  strife  between  sin  and  religion  in  the 
human  spirit.  Diabolus  and  Immanuel  are  the  leaders  of  the  hos- 
tile armies.  The  narrative  is  far  less  interesting  than  the  IHlgrim's 
Progress.    Its  style  is  less  piquant  and  vivacious. 

Izaak  Walton-  Few  authors  have  secured  a  firmer  hold  upon 
the  affection  and  sympathy  of  Jieir  readers  than  Izaak  Walton 
(1593-1683).  He  was  born  in  Stafford,  and  passed  his  early  man- 
hood in  London,  where  he  carried  on  the  business  of  a  linen-draper. 
At  fifty  years  of  age  he  retired  from  trade  with  a  competence 
sufficient  for  his  modest  desires;  and  he  lived  to  the  great  age  of 
ninety  in  ease  and  tranquillity,  enjoying  the  intimate  friendship  of 
many  learned  and  accomplished  men,  and  amusing  himself  with 
literature  and  rural  pleasures.  He  produced  the  Lite*  of  the  dis- 
tinguished contemporaries, — Donne,  Wotton,  Hooker,  George  Her- 
bert, and  Bishop  Sanderson,  the  first,  second,  and  last  of  whom  he 


JOHN    EVELYN".  179 

had  known  personally.  These  biographies  stand  alone  in  lit- 
erature; they  are  written  with  such  tender  grace,  with  such  an 
unaffected  fervor  of  personal  attachment  and  simple  piety,  that 
they  will  always  be  regarded  as  masterpieces.  But  Walton's 
best  production  is  The  Compleat  Angler  (158),  a  treatise  on  his 
favorite  pastime  of  fishing.  It  is  thrown  into  the  form  of  dialogues 
— first  carried  on  by  a  hunter,  a  falconer,  and  an  angler,  each  of 
whom,  in  turn,  extols  the  delights  of  his  favorite  sport,  until  the 
hunter  is  vanquished  by  the  eloquence  of  the  angler,  and  desires 
to  become  his  disciple.  The  veteran  then  initiates  him  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  gentle  craft,  and  as  the  two  continue  their  dis- 
course, technical  precepts  are  interspersed  with  exquisite  pictures 
of  English  river  scenery,  and  racy  descriptions  of  the  fortunes  of 
"angling  days."  Every  page  is  spiced  with  the  quaint  thought 
of  the  philosopher  of  the  rod;  his  sensibility  to  the  beauties  of 
Nature,  and  his  cheerful  piety  find  constant  and  happy  expression  ; 
while  the  language  of  the  book  is  as  pure  as  its  thoughts.  An 
occasional  touch  of  innocent,  old-world  pedantry  only  adds  to  its 
indefinable  charm;  and  its  popularity  seems  destined  to  endure  as 
long  as  the  language.  A  second  part  was  added  to  the  Gomjyleat 
Angler  by  Chables  Cotton,  the  poet,  an  adopted  son  of  Walton. 

Another  writer  of  this  epoch,  whose  interests  were  divided  be- 
tween literary  pursuits  and  the  never-cloying  amusements  of  rural 
life,  is  John  Evelyn  (1620-1706).  He  was  a  gentleman  of  good 
family  and  considerable  fortune,  and  merits  distinction  as  one  of 
the  first  Englishmen  who  practised  the  art  of  gardening  and  plant- 
ing on  scientific  principles.  To  the  timely  publication  of  his  Sylva 
(1664),  a  work  on  the  management  of  forest  trees,  England  is 
largely  indebted  for  her  present  abundance  of  timber.  Terra,  his 
treatise  on  agriculture  and  gardening,  appeared  in  1675.  Both 
books  display  much  practical  good  sense,  animated  by  a  genuine 
love  of  Nature. 

Evelyn's  personal  character  was  a  model  of  purity  and  benevo- 
lence ;  his  household  and  his  friends  seem  to  have  formed  a  little 
oasis  of  virtuous  refinement  in  the  general  depravity  of  their  time. 
Through  a  Diary  U59),  which  extends  over  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  he  has  given  us  valuable  historical  information  concerning 
business  and  social  customs,  and  a  mournful  description  of  the 
unparalleled  corruption  of  Charles  II.'s  court. 

N 


180  SAMUEL     PEPY8. 

Samuel  Pepys  (1632-1703).  Pepys  began  life  as  a  subordinate 
clerk  in  one  of  the  government  offices.  By  bis  punctuality, 
honesty  and  devotion  to  business,  he  rose  to  the  important  position 
of  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty.  He  was  one  of  the  few  able  and 
upright  officials  connected  with  the  government  during  the  reigns 
of  Charles  II.  and  James  II.  The  accession  of  William  and  Mary 
deprived  him  of  his  position,  and  the  last  years  of  his  life  were 
passed  in  retirement. 

The  Diary  (160),  through  which  Pepys  has  immortalized  him- 
self and  won  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  was  written  in  short-hand, 
and  was  first  deciphered  and  published  in  1825.  It  extends  over 
the  nine  years  from  1660  to  1669,  and  is  the  gossipy  chronicle  of 
a  gay  and  profligate  time.  We  have  no  other  book  which  gives  so 
life-like  a  picture  of  that  extraordinary  state  of  society  which 
fell  under  the  author's  observation.  Not  only  was  Pepys  by  nature 
curious  as  a  magpie,  and  somewhat  convivial  in  his  tastes  withal ; 
but  his  official  duties  brought  him  into  contact  with  every  class, 
from  the  king  and  his  ministers  down  to  the  poor,  half-starved 
sailors  whose  pay  he  distributed.  Writing  entirely  for  himself,  he 
chronicles  with  ludicrous  naivete  the  successive  details  of  his  own 
rise  in  wealth  and  importance,  all  the  minutiae  of  his  domestic 
affairs,  and  of  the  dress,- manners,  and  social  amusements  of  him- 
self and  his  associates.  King,  statesmen,  courtiers,  players,  live 
again  in  his  pages,  and  Pepys's  own  character — an  interesting 
compound  of  shrewdness,  vanity,  worldly  wisdom  and  simplicity — 
infinitely  enhances  the  piquancy  of  his  revelations. 

Edward  Hyde,  first  Earl  of  Clarendon  (1608-1674),  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  figures  in  the  Long  Parliament  and  in  the  Age 
of  the  Restoration.  He  was  educated  for  the  profession  of  law ; 
but  at  an  early  age  he  quitted  the  bar,  and  engaged  in  the  more 
exciting  struggles  of  political  life.  He  sat  in  the  Short  Parliament 
of  1640,  and  was  also  a  conspicuous  orator  in  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment, at  first  supporting  the  Opposition  ;  but  after  a  violent  quarrel 
with  the  more  radical  champions  of  the  national  cause,  lie  gradu- 
ally transferred  his  support  to  the  Royalists.  Upon  the  outbreak 
of  civil  war  he  fled  from  London  to  join  the  king  at  York;  and 
from  that  time  forth  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  and  one  of  the 
most  discreet  adherents  of  the  royal  cause.     In  1644  he  was  named 


EDWARD     HYDE.  181 

a  member  of  the  Council  appointed  to  advise  .and  take  charge  of 
Prince  Charles,  whom  he  accompanied  to  Jersey,  and  whose  exile 
and  misfortunes  he  shared  from  the  execution  of  Charles  I.  until 
the  Restoration.  After  the  throne  of  the  Stuarts  had  been  re- 
established, Hyde  reaped  the  reward  of  his  services.  He  was 
made  Lord  Chancellor  of  Engl  and,  created  first  a  Baron,  afterwards, 
in  1661,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  and  for  several  years  exercised  a  pow 
erful  influence  in  the  national  counsels.  However,  his  popularity, 
as  well  as  his  favor  with  the  king,  soon  began  to  decline.  The 
austerity  of  his  morals  was  a  constant  rebuke  to  the  profligate 
Court ;  his  advice,  generally  in  favor  of  prudence  and  economy, 
was  distasteful  to  the  king ;  while,  like  many  other  statesmen  who 
have  returned  to  power  after  long  exile,  he  failed  to  accommodate 
himself  to  the  advanced  state  of  public  opinion.  The  people 
looked  with  distrust  upon  his  increasing  wealth  and  power,  and 
demanded  his  removal  from  office  after  he  had  used  his  influence 
for  the  sale  of  Dunkirk.  Charles  II.  was  all  too  ready  to  sacrifice 
lrjs  minister  to  the  general  clamor.  Clarendon  was  impeached  for 
high  treason.  He  went  into  exile,  and  passed  the  rest  of  his  life 
in  France,  occupied  in  completing  his  History. 

Clarendon's  principal  work  is  the  History  of  the  Cheat  Rebellion 
(156),  as  he,  a  Royalist,  designated  the  history  of  the  Civil  War. 
It  comprises  a  detailed  account  of  the  struggle,  generally  in  the 
form  of  political  memoirs,  together  with  a  narrative  of  the  cir- 
cumstances which  brought  about  the  Restoration.  As  much  of  the 
material  was  derived  from  the  author's  personal  experience,  the 
work  is  of  high  value ;  while  the  dignity  and  animation  of  the 
style,  in  spite  of  occasional  carelessness  and  obscurity,  will  ever 
give  him  rank  among  English  classics.  Impartial  he  is  not ;  but 
his  partiality  is  less  frequent  and  less  flagrant  than  could  fairly 
have  been  anticipated.  Genuine  regard  for  the  welfare  of  his 
country  is  as  evident  in  his  writings  as  in  most  of  the  acts  of  his 
life.  He  is  skilled  in  the  delineation  of  character.  Natural  pene- 
tration and  great  knowledge  of  the  world  combined  to  make  him 
an  acute  observer  of  human  nature ;  and  we  are  indebted  to  his 
spirited  pen  for  many  a  life-like  portrait  of  his  distinguished  con- 
temporaries. 

"The  great  Cavalier-prince  of  historical  portrait  painters  out- 
lived the  great  Puritan-prince  of  epic  poets  but  a  few  days.     Born 


182  THOMAS     HOBBES. 

in  the  same  year,  Clarendon  and  Milton  stood  all  their  lives  apart, 
towering  in  rival  greatness  above  their  fellows  in  the  grand  strug« 
gle  of  their  century.  The  year  of  the  Restoration,  which  brought 
splendor  to  the  Cavalier,  plunged  the  blind  old  Puritan  in  [into] 
bitter  poverty.  But  a  few  years  more,  and  the  great  Earl,  too,  was 
stricken  down  from  his  lofty  place,  and  sent  a  homeless  wanderer 
to  a  stranger's  land.  To  both,  their  sternest  discipline  was  their 
greatest  gain  ;  for  when  the  colors  of  hope  and  gladness  had  faded 
from  the  landscape  of  their  lives,  and  nothing  but  a  waste  of  splen- 
dorless  days  seemed  to  stretch  in  cheerless  vista  before  them,  they 
turned  to  the  desk  for  solace,  and  found  in  the  exercise  of  their 
literary  skill,  not  peace  alone,  but  fame.  Milton  wrote  most  of  his 
great  poem  in  blindness  and  disgrace;  Clarendon  completed  his 
great  history  during  a  painful  exile."  * 

Thomas  Hobhes  (1588-1679)  was  a  metaphysician,  some  of 
whose  works  belong  to  this  period  of  our  literature.  He  was  born 
at  Malmesbury,  was  educated  at  Oxford,  as  a  student  at  the  uni- 
versity was  devoted  to  Logic  and  Philosophy,  and  in  his  maturity 
was  a  man  of  wonderful  mental  activity.  Upon  leaving  Oxford  he 
traveled  on  the  Continent  as  a  tutor  to  the  young  Earl  of  Devon- 
shire, and  till  the  end  of  his  long  life  retained  an  intimacy  with  the 
Earl's  family.  His  patron  secured  him  the  acquaintance  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  the  day — among  them  Bacon,  Ben  Jon- 
son,  and  Lord  Herbert.  Subsequently  Hobbes  passed  several  years 
in  France  and  in  Italy,  and  enlivened  his  studious  pursuits  by 
association  with  the  most  illustrious  of  his  contemporaries — with 
Galileo  and  with  Descartes. 

Ilobbes's  earliest  literary  work  was  a  translation  of  Thucydides. 
The  first  hints  of  his  philosophical  system  were  conveyed  in  two 
political  treatises,  published  in  1642  and  in  1650,  for  the  avowed 
purpos 2  of  quelling  the  spirit  of  republicanism  in  England.  They 
were  both  incorporated  into  his  most  celebrated  work,  the  Levia- 
than;  or  the  Matter,  Form,  and  Power  of  a  Commo/nrcalth,  Ecclesi- 
astical and  Civil.  Therein  he  asserts  that  the  primary  motive  of  all 
human  action  is  selfish  interest ;  that  human  nature  is  therefore 
essentially  ferocious  and  corrupt,  requiring  the  restraint  of  arbitrary 
power  to  bridle  its  passion.     From  these  premises  the  expediency 

•  Collier. 


JOHtf     DRYDEN.  183 

of  despotic  rule  is  deduced.  The  Behemoth,  a  history.of  the  Civil 
War,  embracing  the  period  between  1640  and  1660,  was  finished 
shortly  before  his  death.  The  doctrines  promulgated  by  Hobbea 
were  odious  to  the  religious  people  of  his  time,  and  were  most 
welcome  to  the  Court.  His  style  is  a  model  of  its  kind — clear, 
nervous,  forcible,  it  conveys  the  exact  meaning  and  produces  the 
exact  impression  intended.  He  was  a  man  whose  reading  was  pro- 
found ;  in  the  various  branches  of  science  and  literature  which  he 
cultivated,  he  displayed  that  vigor  which  belongs  to  the  thoughtful 
reader  of  few  books. 

The  most  energetic  assailant  of  Hobbes's  conclusions  in  Phil- 
osophy was  Dr.  Ralph  Cudworth  (1617-1688),  Regius  Professor 
of  Divinity  at  Cambridge,  a  vigorous  writer  and  a  candid  polemic. 
So  fairly  did  he  put  the  arguments  of  the  Atheists,  that  he  brought 
down  on  himself — most  unjustly  indeed — the  imputation  of  Athe- 
ism.   His  great  work  is  the  True  Intellectual  System  of  the  Universe. 


JOHN  DRYDEN. 


M  Without  either  creative  imagination  or  any  power  of  pathos,  he  is  in  argument, 
In  satire,  and  in  declamatory  magnificence,  the  greatest  of  our  poets."—  Q.  L.  Craik. 

"He  was  of  a  very  easy,  of  a  very  pleasing  access  ;  but  somewhat  sour,  and,  aa 
it  were,  difiident  in  his  advances  to  others.1'—  William  Congreve. 

"My  conversation  is  slow  and  dull,  my  humour  saturnine  and  unreserved.  In 
short,  I  am  none  of  those  who  break  jests  in  company,  and  make  repartees."— John 
Dry  den. 

44  What  a  sycophant  to  the  public  taste  was  Dryden  !  Sinning  against  his  feel- 
ings, lewd  in  his  writings,  though  chaste  in  his  conversation."—  William  Cowper. 

"His  plays,  excepting  a  few  scenes,  are  utterly  disfigured  by  vice  or  folly  or 
both.  His  translations  appear  too  much  the  offspring  of  haste  and  hunger;  even 
his  fables  are  ill-chosen  tales  conveyed  in  an  incorrect  though  spirited  versification. 
Yet  amidst  this  great  number  of  loose  prodtictions,  the  refuse  of  our  language,  there 
are  found  some  small  pieces,  his  «  Ode  to  St.  Cecilia,1  the  greater  part  of  '  Absalom 
and  Achitophel,1  and  a  few  more  which  discover  so  great  genius,  such  richness  of 
expression,  such  pomp  and  vanity  of  numbers,  that  they  leave  us  equally  full  of 
regret  and  indignation  on  account  of  the  inferiority,  or  rather,  great  absurdity  of 
his  other  writings." -David  Hume. 

*'  I  admire  Dryden' s  talents  and  genius  highly ;  but  his  is  not  a  poetical  genius. 
The  only  qualities  I  can  find  in  Dryden  that  are  essentially  poetical  are  a  certain 

ardor  and  impetuosity  of  mind  with  an  excellent  ear There  is  not  a  singl« 

image  from  nature  in  the  whole  of  his  works."- -William  Wordsworth. 


184  JOHN     DRYDEN. 

In  the  last  year  of  the  fourteenth  century  Chaucer  died. 
Just  three  hundred  years  later  John  Dryden  (1G3 1-1700) 
dropped  his  pen,  closed  the  bulky  volume  of  his  writings, 
and  ended  his  eventful  career.  As  poets  they  were  utterly 
unlike.  Chaucer's  muse  would  not  dwell  in-doors,  would 
roam  the  fields  and  the  highways,  addressing  itself  to  the 
leaves,  the  flowers,  the  birds  and  the  people;  but  the  retire- 
ment and  the  conveniences  of  the  library  gave  inspiration 
to  the  muse  of  Dryden.  His  pleasure  was  in  an  argument 
rather  than  in  a  landscape;  there  was  for  him  more  music 
in  the  rhythm  of  the  epigram  than  in  all  the  melodies  of 
nature.  During  the  Civil  War  aud  the  Commonwealth  the 
interests  of  his  friends  were  identified  with  the  Puritan 
cause.  His  association  with  the  austere  and  unpoetical  may 
account  for  his  displaying  few  signs  of  literary  precocity. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  had  written  nothing  but 
school-boy  translations  and  odes,  and  an  elegy  on  the  death 
of  Cromwell.  Under  a  continuance  of  republican  rule  he 
might  have  used  his  abilities  to  achieve  position  in  the  state, 
without  one  thought  of  a  poetical  career.  But  the  Restora- 
tion took  place  just  as  he  was  ready  to  enter  active  life ;  and 
the  powerful  relatives  from  whom  he  had  expected  prefer- 
ment came  into  disgrace.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  begin 
the  world  on  his  own  account,  and  he  chose  to  begin  it  on 
the  winning  side.  Taste  to  appreciate  literary  talent,  and 
power  to  reward  it,  were  both  with  the  party  of  the  royalists. 
Accordingly,  Dryden  abandoned  his  Puritan  predilections, 
published  an  ode  of  fervent  welcome  to  the  returning  king, 
and  joined  the  crowd  which  struggled  for  place  and  distinc- 
tion around  the  throne.  The  revival  of  the  drama  had  just 
re-opened  a  lucrative  field  for  the  professional  author,  and 
Dryden  found  it  expedient  to  devote  himself  principally  to 
the  stage.  He  worked  with  energy  and  tact,  choosing  the 
subjects  suited  to  the  taste  of  the  lime,  and  soliciting  in 
laudatory  prefaces  the  patronage  of  the  powerful. 


DRYDEN.  185 

His  Non-Dramatic  Works.  He  had  already  attained  much 
dramatic  popularity,  when,  in  1667,  his  first  narrative  poem 
attracted  general  admiration.  This  was  the  Annus  Mirdbilis 
(142),  written  to  commemorate  the  terrible  Plague 
1666.]  and  Fire  of  London,  and  the  War  with  the  Dutch. 
Its  dignity  of  style  and  its  harmonious  verse  merited 
praise ;  and  the  fact  that  it  was  filled  with  unfounded  eulogy 
of  the  worthless  king  by  no  means  detracted  from  the  fame 
of  its  author.  The  subject  of  Dry  den's  next  production  was 
equally  fortunate.  In  an  elaborate  prose  Essay  on  Dramatic 
Poetry,  he  upheld  the  use  of  rhyme  in  tragedy,  and  ranged 
himself  with  those  who  were  trying  to  engraft  French  drama- 
tic rules  upon  the  English  stage.  From  this  time  the  rise 
of  his  fortunes  was  rapid.  In  1670  he  was  appointed  Poet 
Laureate  and  Royal  Historiographer.  The  King's  Company 
of  Players  contracted  with  him  to  supply  them  with  three 
dramas  a  year.*  He  associated  with  the  favorites  at  Court. 
He  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  the  king;  his  income  was 
respectable ;  the  prestige  of  his  honorable  descent,  his  fine 
personal  appearance  and  his  brilliant  talent,  won  him  an 
Earl's  daughter  for  a  wife.  He  was  the  oracle  of  scholarly 
circles,  and  an  admired  member  of  fashionable  society ; 
while  the  versatile  character  of  his  mind,  as  well  as  regard 
for  his  own  interests,  led  him  to  take  an  active  share  in 
public  affairs.  We  owe  some  of  the  most  powerful  efforts 
of  his  genius  to  his  participation  in  political  intrigues. 
Absalom  and  Achitophel  (144),  his  first  and  best  satire, 
appeared  in  1681,  when  such  intrigues  were  especially  viru- 
lent. It  was  a  political  pamphlet,  .written  in  the  interests 
of  the  king's  party,  attacking  the  policy  of  Chancellor 
Shaftesbury;  and  at  the  same  time  it  gave  Dryden  an 
opportunity  to  revenge  himself  upon  his  personal  foes  and 

*  This  engagement  he  did  not  long  fulfill,  for  in  1694,  he  had  produced  hut 
twert;;-cight  plays  in  thirty-two  years.  He  was  still  employed  by  the  company,  his 
services  evidently  being  considered  too  valuable  to  be  relinquished  on  any  terms. 


186  DRY  DEN. 

literary  rivals, — the  Duke  of  Buckingham  *  and  the  poets 
Settle  and  Shad  well.  It  is  full  of  masterpieces  of  character- 
painting,  not  always  just,  but  always  vigorous.  The  en- 
thusiasm with  which  it  was  received,  confirmed  Dryden's 
poetical  supremacy.  The  attack  upon  Shaftesbury  was 
renewed,  in  a  second  satire  entitled  The  Medal,  and  in  the 
following  year  his  brilliant  MacFlecknoe \  brought  discom- 
fiture again  to  Settle  and  Shadwell. 

In  the  same  year  the  Religio  Laid  (147),  was  written  in 
defence  of  the  Anglican  Church  against  Deists,  Papists,  and 
Presbyterians.  It  was  probably  the  utterance  of  a  man 
already  perplexed  concerning  religious  questions  which  were 
afterwards  answered  by  him  in  a  way  altogether  inconsistent 
with  the  sentiments  of  this  poem.  In  1686  he  forsook  the 
church  which  he  had  so  powerfully  defended,  and  entered 
the  Roman  Catholic  communion.  The  good  faith  of  this 
conversion  has  often  been  called  in  question ;  for  it  coincided 
suspiciously  with  King  James's  proselyting  measures.  Many 
circumstances,  however,  tend  to  prove  its  sincerity;  he 
patiently  suffered  deprivation  and  some  persecution  on 
account  of  his  new  faith,  he  carefully  trained  his  children 
in  the  venerable  church  of  Rome,  he  wrote  his  Hind  and 
Panther  in  sympathy  with  her  reverses.  The  Religio  Laid 
and  the  Hind  and  Panther  display  Dryden's  power  in  that 
most  difficult  species  of  writing  which  masks  abstract  rea- 
soning in  poetical  form.  The  arguments  of  each  are  dear. 
The  powerful  march  of  the  thought,  the  noble  outbursts  of 
enthusiasm,  the  rhetoric,  and  the  beauty  of  the  abundant 


*  In  this  satire,  names  from  the  Old  Testament  indicate  the  leaders  of  the 
Whigs,  in  Dryden's  day.  The  Duke  of  Monmouth  was  Absalom;  the  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury  Achitophel;  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  Zimri  (145).  Dryden  had  a 
special  grudge  against  Buckingham  tor  his  share  in  the  production  of  a  popular 
farce.  The  Jiehearsal,  In  which  Drydon'*  dramatic  faults  were  mercilessly  ridiculed. 

t  Flccknoc  was  a  vain,  busy  scribbler  for  whom  Dryden  felt  great  contempt, 
filing  the  name  with  a  patronymic  to  Sluidwell,  that  poet  is  represented  M 
the  heir  of  Flecknoc's  stupidity. 


DRY  DEN.  187 

illustration,  take  the  judgment  by  storm,  and  make  us 
alternately  converts  to  the  one  faith  and  to  the  other. 
Religio  Laid  is  a  direct  expression  of  doctrinal  views.  The 
Hind  and  Panther  is  half -allegorical  in  form.  Two  animals 
are  represented  as  engaging  in  an  elaborate  argument 
concerning  the  churches  which  they  symbolize.  The 
"milk-white  hind"  is  the  Roman  Catholic,  the  panther 
the  Established  Church,  while  various  minor  sects  take 
part  in  the  discussion  in  the  characters  of  the  wolf,  the 
bear,  the  fox,  etc.  The  absurdity  of  this  plan,  half-excused 
by  its  novelty,  is  sometimes  wholly  forgotten  in  the  scope 
it  gives  for  picturesque  imagery  and  witty  descriptive 
touches. 

Dryden's  non-dramatic  poems  were  generally  written  in 
the  heroic  couplet,  a  measure  which  he  wielded  with  peculiar 
power.  Its  regular  structure  served  his  purpose  alike  in 
argument,  description,  narration,  and  declamation.  The 
music  of  that  rhythm,  instead  of  weakening  his  thought, 
seemed  to  give  it  energy. 

Dryden's  Adversity.  The  Revolution  of  1688,  by  which 
William  and  Mary  were  placed  upon  the  throne  of  England, 
deprived  Dry  den  of  his  Laureateship.  The  Protestant 
Court  did  not  smile  upon  the  Catholic  poet.  But  poverty, 
advancing  age,  failing  health,  and  the  malice  of  exultant 
foes,  proved  powerless  to  impair  his  energy;  and  his  last 
years  were  the  most  illustrious  of  his  literary  career.  He 
continued  to  write  for  the  stage  until  1694;  but  after  that 
year  he  busied  himself  chiefly  with  translation.  His  poetical 
versions  of  Juvenal,  Persius  and  Virgil  appeared  in  1693 ; 
and  the  very  last  year  of  his  life  was  made  illustrious  by  his 
Fables,  a  series  of  renderings  from  Chaucer  and  Boccaccio 
(149). 

For  twelve  years  Dryden  had  lived  in  obscurity  and 
neglect;  yet  when   he  died  in  1700,  evidence  of  the   high 


188  DRY  DEN. 

esteem  in  which  he  was  held  was  promptly  given  ;  for  while 
his  family  was  preparing  to  bury  him  in  a  style  suited  to 
humble  circumstances,  a  large  subscription  was  raised  to 
give  him  whatever  tribute  there  might  be  in  an  imposing 
funeral.  His  body  was  conveyed  in  state  to  Westminster 
Abbey,  and  was  interred  between  the  tombs  of  Chaucer  and 
Cowley. 

His  Literary  Development.  Critics  have  justly  said  that 
Dryden,  more  than  any  other  poet,  would  gain  apprecia- 
tion from  a  chronological  survey  of  his  writings.  In  range 
of  thought,  and  in  power  of  expression,  he  was  a  man  of 
steady  growth.  This  development  is  indicated  by  the  de- 
partments of  composition  to  which  he  successively  devoted 
himself.  His  panegyrical  poems  and  the  dramas  which 
pandered  to  the  corrupt  sentiments  of  his  age,  were  pro- 
duced in  the  years  of  his  struggle  for  recognition  ;  his 
best  dramas,  his  thoughtful  criticisms,  his  satires,  polemics, 
translations,  fables  and  odes, — in  short,  all  those  works 
exhibiting  the  higher  qualities  of  his  mind,  were  written  in 
the  dignified  maturity  of  his  manhood,  or  in  his  noble 
old  age. 

His  Dramas.  In  his  first  plays  he  is  the  representative  of 
the  great  revolution  in  taste  which  followed  the  Restoration, 
supplanting  the  noble  romantic  drama  of  the  Elizabethan 
era  by  a  travesty  of  French  models.  His  comedies  are  de- 
graded to  the  immoral  public  sentiment.  There  is  in  them 
no  fine  delineation  of  character,  no  flow  of  humor.  They 
were  popular  because  they  were  gross;  and  their  author 
courted  popularity  as  the  means  by  which  he  could  replenish 
his  shrunken  purse.  Like  all  other  productions  of  mer- 
cenary art,  these   dramas  were  soulless  and  mean.*      In 

*  Bit  [Dryden's]  indelicacy  was  like  the  forced  impudence  of  abas'iftil  man.' 
— Walter  Scott. 


DRYDEN.  189 

tragedy  he  strove  towards  superhuman  ideals  of  heroic  and 
amorous  life,  and  succeeded  in  being  incredibly  bombastic 
and  unnatural.  He  seems  to  have  been  conscious  of  his 
own  defects,  for  he  exercised  much  ingenuity  in  concealing 
them  from  the  public.  His  comedies  were  enlivened  by 
witty  allusions  and  curious  intrigue;  his  tragedies  were 
sustained  by  picturesque  situations  and  powerful  declama- 
tion. Over  all  he  threw  the  veil  of  graceful  versification, 
easy,  melodious,  balancing  grievous  defects  of  sense  by 
harmony  of  sound.  His  recognition  of  his  own  indebted- 
ness to  this  help  may  have  made  him  so  long  an  advocate 
of  the  use  of  rhyme  in  tragedy.  In  his  later  years,  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Shakespearean  authors 
led  Dryden  to  a  juster  idea  of  the  province  of  the  drama. 
He  returned  to  the  national  use  of  blank  verse,  and  de- 
veloped considerable  power  in  portraying  violent  passion 
and  strongly-marked  character.  There  is  splendid  imagery 
m  many  of  his  passages.  In  the  preface  of  All  for 
Love,  the  poet  thus  acknowledges  the  source  of  his  in- 
spiration:   "In  my  style  I  have  professed  to  imitate  the 

divine   Shakespeare I   hope  I  may  affirm, 

and  without  vanity,  that  by  imitating  him  I  have  excelled 
myself." 

Many  beautiful  songs  are  interspersed  among  the  scenes 
of  Dryden 's  dramas ;  but  his  most  admired  lyric  is  the  Ode 
on  St.  Cecilia's  Bay*  (150).  It  was  written  to  be  set  to 
music,  and  celebrates  the  powers  and  triumphs  of  that  art. 
In  energy  and  in  harmony  it  surpasses  all  other  lyrics  of 
our  language. 


*  "  Mr.  St.  John,  afterwards  Lord  Bolingbroke,  happening  to  pay  a  morning 
visit  to  Dryden,  whom  he  always  respected,  found  him  in  an  unusual  agitation  of 
spirits,  even  to  a  trembling.  On  inquiring  the  cause— lI  have  been  up  all  night,' 
replied  the  old  bard ;  l  my  musical  friends  made  me  promise  to  write  them  an  ode 
for  the  Feast  of  St.  Cecilia;  I  have  been  so  struck  with  the  subject  which  occurred 
to  me,  that  I  could  not  leave  it  till  I  had  completed  it—here  it  is,  finished  at  one 
sitting.— Warton. 


190  DRYDEN\ 

Dryden's  Translation  of  the  -ffineid.  Dryden's  version  of 
the  jEneid  is  the  most  famous  of  his  translations.  The 
translator  had  a  spirit  much  unlike  that  of  the  old  master, 
and  could  not  reproduce  the  spirit  of  the  poem.  The 
majesty  of  Virgil's  manner  is  always  tempered  by  consum- 
mate grace;  and  Dryden,  however  endowed  with  majesty, 
was  deficient  in  elegance  and  grace.  He  was  too  free  and 
careless  to  give  a  faithful  version  of  the  most  accurate  of 
poems.  A  similar  lack  of  adaptability  is  noticed  in  his  ren- 
derings of  the  Fables  from  Chaucer  and  Boccaccio ;  but  their 
flowing  ease  of  expression,  the  frequent  recurrence  of  beauti- 
ful lines  and  striking  images,  and  their  freedom  from  the 
author's  fault  of  occasional  coarseness,  make  them  most 
welcome  illustrations  of  his  poetical  power. 

His  Prose.  Dryden's  prose  writings  are  numerous,  and 
must  have  weight  in  determining  our  estimate  of  his  ability 
and  influence.  They  are  in  the  forms  of  essays,  prefaces, 
or  dedications  prefixed  to  his  various  works.  He  was  the 
first  enlightened  critic  who  wrote  in  the  English  language; 
but  in  criticism  as  in  poetry  he  was  a  development.  Ma- 
cau lay  acutely  remarks,  that  no  man  influenced  his  age  so 
much  as  Dryden,  because  no  man  was  so  much  influenced 
by  his  age.  An  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poetry  was  the  earliest 
statement  of  his  critical  system.  Its  general  spirit  is  that 
of  servile  conformity  to  popular  opinion  ;  but  its  reasoning, 
albeit  from  false  premises,  is  cogent.  The  style  of  his  prose 
writing  was  admirable;  his  English  was  lively,  vigorous, 
idiomatic,  equally  removed  from  mannerism  and  from  care- 
lessness. 


Interesting  discussions  of  Dryden's  life  and  works  may  be  found  in  Johnson's 
Lives  of  the  Poets,  Mucaulay's  Essays,  Wilson's  Essays  (Blackwood's  Magazine, 
Vol.  lA'IU.  Etod'l  lirifish  forts,  Vol  I.,  U.izlitt's  Works.  Vol.  IV..  Tart  II..  Sec. 
IV.,  Uallam's  Literature  of  Europe,  Vol.  IV.,  North  American  Rei-iew,  July,  1868, 
Tnine's  English  Literature. 


DEYDEN.  191 

In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

The  Literature  of  the  Restoration. 

1.  Samuel  Butler,— Hi  id  ibr  as. 

2.  John  Banyan,— Pilgrim's  Progress  from  this 

World  to  that  which  Is  to  Come, 

3.  Izaak  Walton. 

4.  John  Evelyn,  and  Samuel  Pepys, 

5.  Edward  Hyde. 

6.  Thomas  Hobbes. 

7.  John  JDryden. 

a.  His  Non-Dramatic  Works* 

b.  His  Adversity. 

c.  His  Literary  Development. 

d.  His  Translation  of  the  JEnePH, 

e.  His  Prose* 


CHAPTEH  XVI. 

THE  CORRUPT   DRAMA 

WHEN  Dryden  wrote  for  the  stage,  he  degraded  his  talente, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  the  service  of  an  immoral  public. 
That  same  corrupt  society  debauched  a  company  of  brilliant  men, 
younger  than  Dryden,  who  devoted  themselves  exclusively  to 
dramatic  composition.  In  aim  and  in  manner  they  are  so  unlike 
the  great  playwrights  of  the  preceding  century  that  they  are  often 
spoken  of  as  the  authors  of  "The  New  Drama."  The  aim  of 
Shakespeare  and  his  comrades  had  been  to  portray  nature  and 
natural  passion.  Recognizing  the  fact  that  nature  is  infinitely 
complex,  they  had  introduced  comic  scenes  and  characters  into 
their  tragedies,  as  they  admitted  elevacea  reeling  ana  language  into 
their  comedies. 

The  Style  and  Spirit  of  the  New  Drama.  In  the  new  drama 
that  followed  the  Restoration,  an  exaggerated,  bombastic  tragedy, 
on  the  one  hand,  was  counterbalanced,  on  the  other,  by  the  comedy  of 
artificial  life.  Material  was  drawn  not  from  nature,  but  from  society. 
Declamation  and  pompous  tirades  displaced  the  old  dialogue — a 
dialogue  so  varied,  so  natural,  touching  every  key  of  human  feel- 
ing. Wit  usurped  the  province  of  humor ;  and  the  comic  drama- 
tists delineated,  not  character,  but  manners.  They  were  apt  in 
reflecting  the  spirit  of  their  age;  but  they  had  no  deep  philosophic 
insight  into  human  nature.  Their  works  are  a  splendid  revelation 
of  the  powers  of  the  English  language;  yet  few  among  them  an 
capable  of  awakening  a  thrill  of  genuine  sympathetic  feeling.  They 
do  not  deal  with  the  springs  of  human  passion  ami  action  ;  more- 
over there  is  an  ingrained  profligacy  about  them;  and  so,  while 
they  lack  the  one.  quality  that  would  make  them  attractive,  they 
display  the  spirit  that  makes  them  repulsive  to  the  modern  taste. 


WILLIAM     WYCHERLEY.  193 

The  works  of  Dryden  may  be  regarded  as  the  link  connecting 
the  older  drama  with  the  new. • 

The  Comic  Dramatists.  William  Wycherley  (1640-1715) 
was  the  first  of  the  comic  dramatists  who  reproduced  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  peculiar  influences  of  his  day.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  household  of  a  French  noble,  and  returned  to  England 
to  become  a  brilliant  figure  in  the  society  of  London.  His  first 
comedy.  Love  in  a  Wood,  was  acted  when  he  was  thirty-two  years 
old.  The  Gentleman  Dancing  Master,  The  Country  Wife,  and  The 
Plain  Dealer  followed  at  irregular  intervals,  the  last  one  appearing 
in  1677 ;  and  these  four  plays  are  the  only  results  of  his  dramatic 
work.  He  soon  after  lost  the  favor  of  the  Court  through  an 
unfortunate  marriage,  and  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  melancholy 
and  ignoble.  At  the  age  of  sixty-five  he  made  a  vain  attempt  to 
regain  public  admiration  by  means  of  a  collection  of  poetical 
miscellanies;  but  being  stained  with  all  the.  immorality  of  his 
youthful  productions,  and  redeemed  by  none  of  their  intellectual 
brilliancy,  the  book  fell  dead  upon  the  market. 

The  small  number  of  Wycherley's  dramatic  works,  as  well  as 
the  style  of  their  composition,  indicates  that  he  was  neither  very 
original  in  conception,  nor  capable  of  producing  anything,  save  by 
patient  labor  and  careful  revision.  The  leading  ideas  of  his  two 
best  comedies  are  derived  from  Moliere.  But  Wycherley,  infected 
with  the  corruption  of  his  age,  modified  the  data  of  the  great 
French  dramatist,  and  so  changed  what  was  pure  as  to  outrage 
moral  sensibility.  Setting  aside  this  ingrained  fault,  Wycherley's 
plots  and  characters  reveal  much  ingenuity  and  humorous  power, 
His  plays  are  admirably  adapted  for  representation.  Frequent 
sudden  transitions  of  the  intrigue  fascinate  the  attention  without 
fatiguing  it,  and  give  rise  to  striking  "situations,"  which  are 
always  treated  with  masterly  comic  effect.  The  dialogue  is  easy, 
vivacious,  amusing,  and  its  touches  of  witty  satire  are  frequent. 
The  Country  Wife  is  generally  pronounced  to  be  the  best  of  his 
comedies. 

In  the  esteem  of  his  contemporaries  William  Congreve  (1670  *- 

*  The  inscription  on  his  monument  says  that  he  was  born  in  1672. 

9 


194  WILLIAM     coNiiiiKVh, 

1729)  stood  pre-eminent  among  the  comic  dramatists.  He  had  the 
tastes  of  the  man  of  fashion,  with  the  talents  of  the  man  of  letters; 
and  his  education  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  gave  him  scholarship 
far  superior  to  that  of  his  rivals.  Going  to  London  to  study  law, 
his  graces  soon  made  him  a  favorite  in  fashionable  circles.  Be- 
tween 1692  and  1700  he  devoted  the  intervals  of  social  dissipation 
to  dramatic  writing,  and  produced  five  plays, — The  Old  Bachelor 
(1693),  The  Double  Dealer  (1694),  Late  for  Love  (1695),  The  Mourning 
Bride  (1697),  and  The  Way  of  the  World  (1700).  They  were 
all  received  with  favor  by  the  public  and  by  the  critics.  The 
brilliancy  of  the  youug  author's  talents  won  for  him  rich  patronage. 
After  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  he  published  only  a 
volume  of  trifling  miscellanies;  but  his  reputation  and  prosperity 
continued  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Successive  ministers  of  the 
government  vied  with  each  other  in  granting  him  lucrative  sine- 
cures. He  accumulated  a  large  fortune,  and  commanded  the 
society  of  wealth  and  of  intellect.  Dryden  named  him  his  suc- 
cessor in  poetical  supremacy,  and  Pope,  in  dedicating  a  translation 
of  Homer,  passed  by  powerful  and  illustrious  patrons  to  recognize 
Congreve  as  the  patriarch  of  letters.  When  he  died,  in  1729,  he 
was  honored  with  almost  a  national  funeral. 

Congreve's  scenes  are  one  incessant  flash  and  sparkle  of  the 
finest  repartee;  and  his  wit,  like  all  wit  of  the  highest  order,  is 
invariably  allied  with  shrewd  sense  and  acute  observation.  He 
stands  alone  in  his  power  of  divesting  this  intellectual  sword-play 
of  every  shade  of  formality.  The  conversations  of  his  characters 
are  accurate  imitations  of  the  conversation  of  fashionable  life. 
His  characters  are  artificial,  modeled  after  the  affected  men  and 
women  of  Congreve's  society.  Not  one  of  his  scenes  is  relieved  by 
a  breath  of  nature;  indeed  we  have  little  intimation  that  he  knew 
aught  of  either  nature  or  simplicity.  Love  for  Love  is  Congreve's 
masterpiece.  Its  characters  are  strikingly  varied,  and  they  relie\r 
each  other  with  unrelaxing  spirit.  Its  intrigue,  too,  is  rflVrtively 
managed,  and  is  better  than  that  of  any  of  his  other  comedies.  His 
one  tragedy,  Tfie  Mourning  Bride,  written  in  solemn  and  pompous 
strain,  though  rapturously  applauded  when  first  given  to  the 
public,  has  now  no  power  of  pleasing.  Its  scenes  of  distress  cannot 
touch  the  heart;  its  lofty  tirades  cannot  stir  the  passions.     What 


VANBEUGH.  FARQUHAR.  195 

enchantment  it  has  for  the  modern  reader  is  found  in  the  power 
and  melody  of  its  descriptive  passages. 

Another  popular  author  of  this  school  was  Sir  John  Vanbrugh 
(Van-broo)  (1666-1726),  a  famous  architect,  fiis  dramatic  talent 
is  exhibited  in  comedies,  —  The  Relapse,  The  Provoked  Wife,  JEsop, 
The  Confederacy,  several  adaptations  from  Moliere,  and  Tne  Pro- 
voked Husband,  left  incomplete  at  the  author's  death.  His  fund  of 
invention  enables  him  to  surpass  either  Wycherley  or  Congreve 
in  developing  a  character  or  an  incident  to  its  full  capacity  for 
comic  effect.  His  personages  have  an  incurable  habit  of  getting 
into  difficulties,  and  inexhaustible  ingenuity  in  getting  out.  All 
are  sketched  from  life — swaggering  fops,  booby  squires,  pert  cham- 
bermaids, and  intriguing  dames — and  sketched  with  such  vivacity 
as  would  make  amends  for  any  fault,  save  that  of  pervading  coarse- 
ness and  obscenity.  The  reader  finds  himself  in  bad  company  ;  for 
all  the  men  are  rascals,  and  none  of  the  women  are  as  good  as  they 
should  be. 

The  comic  drama  of  this  generation  found  its  last  expression  in 
the  works  of  George  Farquhar  (1678-1707).  He  wTas  an  Irish- 
man, who  was  dismissed  from  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  on  account  of  some  boyish  irregularities.  He  then 
pursued  the  calling  of  an  actor;  but  having  accidentally  inflicted 
a  dangerous  wound  upon  a  comrade  on  the  stage,  he  quitted  his 
profession  and  entered  the  army.  He  soon  entered  the  lists  as  a 
dramatist,  and  wrote  his  comedies  in  rapid  succession.  His  literary 
career  was  crowded  into  ten  years, — from  1698,  when  his  first  play 
was  acted,  until  1707,  the  date  of  his  early  death.  His  principal 
plays  are  Love  and  a  Bottle,  The  Constant  Couple,  The  Inconstant, 
The  Twin  Rivals,  The  Recruiting  Officer  and  Tlie  Beaux'  Stratagem. 
His  heroes  are  in  sympathy  with  himself, — happy,  hot-blooded, 
rattling  fellows,  whose  madcap  pranks  are  prompted  by  the  rash- 
ness of  youth.  They  are  much  given  to  deceptions  and  wanton 
tricks,  but  betray  none  of  the  vicious  coarseness  of  Wycherley's 
villains,  nor  any  of  the  refined  rascality  of  Vanbrugh 's  sharpers. 
The  Beaux'  Stratagem  was  the  last  of  his  comedies,  and  is  also 
considered  the  best.  It  is  an  entertaining  and  ingenious  portrayal 
of  the  adventures  of  two  gentlemen  who  went  into  the  country 


196  .  J  B  B  Bli  V      COLLIER. 

disguised  as  master  and  servant.  Whole  scenes  are  filled  with  a 
rich  humor  which  recalls  the  spirit  of  the  older  drama.  In  several 
of  the  other  plays  there  are  passages  worked  up  into  brilliant 
comic  effect. 

"  The  one  feature  which  above  all  others  forces  itself  upon  our 
notice  in  every  work  of  the  whole  school,  is  the  absolute  shame- 
lessness  of  every  person  portrayed,  male  or  female.  Not  one  of 
their  leading  characters  is  represented  with  the  slightest  conception 
that  the  grossest  vices  are  things  to  be  concealed;  chastity  is 
derided  by  the  ladies  as  unblushingly  as  by  the  gentlemen,  and 
vice  is  not  only  rampaut  but  triumphant."  * 

Jeremy  Collier.  Such  glaring  shamelessness  did  not  go  un- 
rebuked.  A  sturdy  clergyman,  Jeremy  Collier  (1650-1726),  faced 
the  scorn  of  play-goers,  and  presented  himself  as  the  champion  of 
decency.  He  published  A  Short  View  of  the  Immorality  and  Pro- 
faneness  of  the  English  Stage,  in  which  he  defiantly  attacked  Wycher- 
ley,  Congreve  and  Dryden.  The  pamphlet  was  written  with  fiery 
energy  and  with  wit,  and  rallied  the  sympathies  of  all  moral  and 
thoughtful  men  in  the  nation.  Dryden  himself  sincerely  and 
gracefully  acknowledged  the  justice  of  Collier's  strictures.!  A 
defence  was  undertaken  by  Wycherley,  Congreve  and  Vanbrugh ; 
but  the  assault  had  been  so  vigorous,  and  was  pushed  with  such 
resoluteness,  that  victory  remained  with  the  assailant.  The  contro- 
versy resulted  in  giving  a  better  tone  to  the  drama  and  to  lighter 
literature  in  general,  and  from  that  time  there  has  been  a  gradual 
improvement  which  has  given  to  the  readers  of  English  the  purest 
modern  literature.  Collier  was  the  author  of  An  Ecclesiadical 
History  of  Great  Britain,  and  an  industrious  writer  in  various  lines 
of  thought;  but  as  his  grandest  triumph  was  won  in  his  battle 
with  the  corrupt  dramatists,  his  name  is  placed  with  theirs. 

*  C.  D.  Yonge. 

t  "  I  shall  say  less  of  Mr.  Collier,  because  in  many  things  he  has  taxed  me  justly; 
and  I  have  pleaded  gafltj  to  all  thoughts  and  expressions  of  mine  which  can  be 
truly  argued  of  obscenity,  profaneness  or  immorality,  and  retract  them.  If  he  be 
my  enemy,  let  bin  triumph  ;  if  he  be  my  friend,  as  I  have  given  him  no  personal 
occasion  to  be  otherwise,  ho  will  be  glad  of  my  repentance."— Dryden,  Preface  to 
FaUet. 


OTWAY,     LEE,     ROWE.  197 

The  Tragic  Dramatists.  Among  the  exclusively  tragic  drama- 
tists of  this  epoch  the  first  place  belongs  to  Thomas  Otway  (1651- 
1685),  who  died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-four,  after  a  life  of 
wretchedness  and  irregularity.  He  received  a  regular  education  at 
Oxford,  and  very  early  entered  the  profession  of  an  actor.  During 
this  part  of  his  career  he  produced  three  tragedies, — Alcibiades, 
Don  Carlos,  and  Titus  and  Berenice.  After  a  brief  service  in  the 
army  he  returned  to  the  stage ;  and  in  the  years  from  1680  to  his 
death  he  wrote  four  more  tragedies, —  Gains  Marius,  The  Orphan, 
The  Soldier's  Fortune,  and  Venice  Preserved.  These  works,  with  the 
exception  of  The  Orphan  and  Venice  Preserved,  are  now  nearly 
forgotten  ;  but  the  glory  of  Otway  is  so  firmly  established  upon  these 
two  plays,  that  it  will  probably  endure  as  long  as  the  language 
itself.  As  a  tragic  dramatist,  his  most  striking  merit  is  his  pathos. 
The  distress  in  his  poems  reaches  a  pitch  of  terrible  intensity. 
His  style  is  vigorous  and  racy.  In  reading  his  best  passages  we 
may  continually  notice  a  flavor  of  Ford,  Beaumont  and  other 
masters  of  the  Elizabethan  era. 

Nathaniel  Lee  (1657  ?-1692),  in  spite  of  protracted  attacks  of 
insanity,  was  able  to  acquire  a  high  reputation  for  dramatic  genius. 
In  all  his  plays  there  is  a  wild  and  exaggerated  imagery,  sometimes 
reminding  the  reader  of  Marlowe.  He  assisted  Dryden  in  the 
composition  of  several  of  his  pieces,  and  wrote  eleven  original 
tragedies. 

Nicholas  Howe  (1673-1718),  like  Congreve,  furnishes  a  happy 
contrast  to  the  wretched  lives  of  many  dramatists  who  wrere  by  no 
means  his  inferiors  in  talent.  He  was  an  admired  member  of  the 
fashionable  society  of  his  day,  and  belonged  to  Pope's  circle  of  wits 
and  scholars.  Secured  against  want  by  the  possession  of  a  fortune, 
he  also  held  many  lucrative  offices  and  was  made  Poet  Laureate  as  a 
reward  for  his  literary  work.  Rowe  was  the  first  who  undertook 
the  critical  editing  of  Shakespeare ;  and  to  this  work  he  owes  his 
celebrity  as  a  literary  man.  His  own  dramatic  works  comprise 
seven  tragedies,  of  which  Jane  Shore,  The  Fair  Penitent  and  Lady 
Jane  Grey  are  the  most  noteworthy. 

From  the  time  of  Dryden  until  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of 


198  POETRY     AFTER     DRY  DEN. 

the  eighteenth  century,  English  poetry  exhibits  a  character  equally 
remote  from  the  splendid  imagery  of  the  Elizabethan  era,  and 
from  the  picturesque  intensity  of  the  modern  school.  Correctness 
and  an  affected  regard  for  what  was  called  "  sense  "  were  the  quali- 
ties chiefly  cultivated.  The  abuse  of  ingenuity  which  disfigures  the 
poetry  of  Cowley,  Donne  and  Quarles  was  avoided ;  but  there  was 
likewise  a  want  of  feeling.  It  is  remarkable  how  many  of  the 
non-dramatic  poets  of  this  time  were  men  of  rank  and  fashion, 
whose  literary  efforts  were  simply  the  accomplishments  of  amateurs. 

Consult  Macaulay's  Essay  on  The  Comic  Dramatists  of  the  Restoration,  The 
Dramatic  Works  of  Wycherley,  Oongreve,  Vanbrugh  and  Farquhar,  edited  by  Leigtj 
Hunt,  Hallam's  Literature  of  Europe,  Vol.  IV.,  Hazlitt's  Lectures  on  the  Enylul. 
Comic  Writers,  Lect.  IV. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

The  Corrupt  Drama. 

1.  The  Style  and  Spirit  of  the  New  Drama, 

2.  The  Comic  Dramatists. 

a.  William  Wycherley. 

b.  William  Congreve. 

c.  Sir  John  Vanbrugh. 

d.  George  Farquhar. 

3.  Jeremy  Collier, 

4.  The  Tragic  Dramatists. 

a.  Thomas  Otway. 

b.  Nathaniel  Lee. 

c.  Nicholas  Rowe. 

B.  Poetry  after  Dry  den's  Epoch, 


CHAPTER   XVil. 

"HE  PHILOSOPHERS  AND  THEOLOGIANS  OF  LOCKE'S  TIME, 
JOHN    LOCKE. 

"  The  most  elegant  of  prose  writers."—  W.  8.  Landor. 

"All  his  contemporaries,  and,  what  is  better,  all  the  known  actions  of  his  life, 
testify  that  no  one  was  more  sincerely  and  constantly  attached  to  truth,  virtue,  and 
the  cause  of  human  liberty.'1—  Victor  Cousin. 

"He  gave  the  first  example  in  the  English  language  of  writing  on  abstract 
subjects  with  a  remarkable  degree  of  simplicity  and  perspicuity."—  Thomas  Beid. 

M  We  who  find  some  things  to  censure  in  Locke,  have  perhaps  learned  how  to 
censure  them  from  himself;  we  have  thrown  off  so  many  false  notions  and  films 
of  prejudice  by  his  help  that  we  are  become  capable  of  judging  our  mastc"— 
Henry  Hallam. 

"  If  Bacon  first  discovered  the  rules  by  which  knowledge  is  improved,  Locke  has 

most  contributed  to  make  mankind  at  large  observe  them His  writings 

have  diffused  throughout  the  civilized  world  the  love  of  civil  liberty  ;  the  spirit 
of  toleration  and  charity  in  religious  differences  ;  the  disposition  to  reject  whatever 
is  obscure,  fantastic,  or  hypothetical  in  speculation  ;  to  reduce  verbal  disputes  to 
their  proper  value;  to  abandon  problems  which  admit  of  no  solution  ;  to  distrust 
whatever  cannot  be  clearly  expressed  ;  to  render  theory  the  simple  expression 
of  facts  ;  and  to  prefer  those  studies  which  most  directly  contribute  to  human  hap- 
piness."—^ James  Mackintosh. 

"  Few  among  the  great  names  in  philosophy  have  met  with  a  harder  measure 
of  justice  from  the  present  generation  than  Locke,  the  unquestioned  founder  of  the 
analytical  philosophy  of  mind,"— John  Stuart  Mill. 

THE  English  Revolution  of  1688  secured  constitutional  free- 
dom for  the  state,  and  gave  a  powerful  impulse  to  practical 
progress  in  science  and  philosophy.  The  period  displays  the 
names  of  Newton  and  Locke,  the  former  famous  in  physical,  the 
other  in  intellectual  science. 


200     *  JOHN     LOCKE. 

John  Locke  (1632-1704),  son  of  an  officer  in  the  Puritan  army, 
was  reared  in  an  atmosphere  of  political  independence  and  devout 
enthusiasm.  A  tendency  to  metaphysical  speculation  seems  native 
to  the  followers  of  Calvinistic  theology;  and,  doubtless,  the  natural 
bent  of  Locke's  mind  was  encouraged  by  his  early  associations. 
When  he  entered  Oxford,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  had  already 
developed  a  taste  for  psychological  study,  and  a  habit  of  indepen- 
dent thinking.  Independent  thinking  was  not  encouraged  in  a 
university  which  u  piqued  itself  on  being  behind  the  spirit  of  the 
age."  Locke  soon  discovered  Oxford  to  be  the  citadel  of  the  out- 
worn scholasticism  of  the  Middle  Ages.  He  became  filled  with 
disgust  at  the  empty  subtleties  which  sheltered  themselves  under 
the  name  of  Aristotle.  In  after  years  he  frequently  regretted  that 
his  early  manhood  had  been  passed  under  such  adverse  influences. 
However,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  standing  in  constant  antag- 
onism to  the  conservative  spirit  of  the  university  training  was 
influential  in  forming  his  intellectual  character.  During  the  thirteen 
years  which  he  spent  at  Oxford — first  as  bachelor,  then  as  master — 
much  of  his  time  was  devoted  to  preparation  for  the  practice  of 
medicine.  He  thus  came  into  contact  with  the  vigorous  and  pw> 
gressive  spirit  which  was  transfusing  physical  science.  Meanwhile 
his  interest  in  metaphysics  was  stimulated  by  study  of  Bacon  and 
Descartes,  and  by  familiar  discussions  with  his  friends.  Locke 
possessed  fine  conversational  powers ;  and  his  associates  were 
chosen  from  among  the  brilliant  and  entertainiug  rather  than  from 
among  the  studious  and  profound.  In  its  bearing  upon  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  later  life,  and  the  tendency  of  his  works,  this 
fact  is  worthy  of  note.  It  indicates  Ifis  remarkable  union  of  the 
talents  of  the  student  with  such  tastes  and  practical  abilities  as 
make  the  man  of  the  world. 
• 

Locke's  Relation  to  Shaftesbury.  In  1G64  Locke  assumed  the 
secretaryship  of  a  diplomatic  mission,  and  remained  on  the  Conti- 
nent for  a  year.  After  his  return  to  Oxford,  he  was  for  a  time  in 
doubt  whether  to  continue  in  diplomatic  service,  or  to  begin  the 
practice  of  medicine.  The  latter  alternative  seemed  Inexpedient  on 
account  of  his  delicate  health.  Conscientious  motives  prompted 
him  also  to  reject  a  flattering  offer  of  preferment  in  the  Irish 
Church.      At    this  juncture,   a  chance    acquaintance   with   Lord 


JOHN     LOCKE.  201 

Ashley,  afterwards  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  determined  his  career.  He 
recommended  himself  to  this  nobleman  by  a  fortunate  exercise  of 
his  medical  skill,  and  confirmed  his  regard  by  charms  of  character 
and  of  conversation.  Shaftesbury's  own  social  qualities  were  of 
the  most  attractive  order.  Under  the  influence-of  mutual  admira 
tion  and  intellectual  sympathy,  a  warm  and  enduring  friendship 
arose  between  the  two.  Locke  took  up  his  residence  in  Shaftes- 
bury's house,  conducted  the  education,  first  of  his  son  and  after- 
wards of  his  grandson,  and  to  a  great  degree  became  identified  with 
his  political  fortunes.  Enjoying  the  friendship  and  familiar  con- 
verse of  the  talented  statesmen  who  surrounded  his  patron,  Locke's 
attention  was  naturally  directed  to  theories  of  politics  and  govern- 
ment. He  filled  various  offices  during  Shaftesbury's  two  seasons 
of  political  ascendency,  and  in  1679  assisted  him  and  others  in 
framing  the  constitution  of  the  province  of  Carolina.  When,  in 
1682,  Shaftesbury  fled  to  Holland  under  the  accusation  of  high 
treason,  Locke  shared  his  exile  and  his  disgrace.  He  bore  his  mis- 
fortunes with  true  philosophical  fortitude,  and  chose  to  remain  in 
Holland  during  the  reign  of  James  II.  In  the  congenial  society 
of  many  distinguished  men  who,  like  him,  were  exiles  for  con- 
science's sake,  he  devoted  himself  with  renewed  zest  to  philosophical 
study.  His  Letter  on  Toleration  and  an  abstract  of  the  Essay  on  tfie 
Human  Understanding  were  both  published  before  his  return  to 
England  in  1689. 

Under  the  rule  of  William  and  Mary,  Locke's  public  career  was 
active  and  useful.  He  was  made  a  commissioner  of  appeals;  and 
as  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Trade  rendered  important  assistance 
in  the  reformation  of  the  coinage.  In  1690,  the  full  edition  of  his 
Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding  attracted  general  attention 
(161).  In  fourteen  years  it  passed  through  six  editions— an 
unprecedented  sale,  considering  the  character  of  the  work.  In  1700 
Locke's  failing  health  compelled  him  to  resign  his  official  duties. 
He  found  a  tranquil  retreat  in  the  home  of  his  friend,  Sir  Francis 
Mesham.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  Scriptural 
study  and  devout  contemplation,  and  in  1704  he  died,  at  the  ripe 
age  of  seventy-two. 

Locke's  Contribution  to  English  Thought.  In  order  to  form 
a  just  estimate  of  the  power  of  Locke's  mind  and  of  the  extent  of 


202  JOHN     LOCKE. 

hia  influence,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  age  of  which  he- 
part.  He  has  been  called  the  most  illustrious  of  Bacon's  apostles. 
The  praise  is  not  misplaced.  Hobbes  had  already  proclaimed 
psychology  to  be  a  science  of  observation,  but  he  had  been  too 
intent  on  establishing  such  of  its  laws  as  might  support  his  politi- 
cal views  to  make  a  comprehensive  study  of  the  whole.  It  was 
reserved  for  Locke  to  demonstrate  the  utility  of  the  method  of 
observation  and  experiment.  Like  his  great  master,  Bacon,  he 
sought  fruit;  his  most  abstract  study  evinced  his  union  of  the 
philosopher  with  the  business  man.  In  his  great  work,  the  Essay 
on  the  Human  Understanding,  he  proposes  to  give  a  rational  and 
clear  account  of  the  nature  of  the  human  mind,  of  the  real  charac- 
ter of  human  ideas,  of  the  source  whence -they  are  derived,  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  presented  to  the  consciousness. 
With  unwearied  patience  he  travels  over  the  immense  field  of 
mental  phenomena,  describing,  analyzing,  classifying,  with  a  prac- 
tical sagacity  which  is  equaled  only  by  the  purity  of  his  desire  for 
truth.  His  work  is,  as  Mr.  Hallam  justly  observes,  "  the  first  real 
chart  of  the  coasts,  wherein  some  may  be  laid  down  incorrectly, 
but  the  general  relations  of  all  are  perceived."  The  obligation 
under  which  he  has  placed  succeeding  thinkers  can  scarcely  be 
over-estimated.  When  we  censure  his  superficial  investigations 
and  his  narrow  views,  we  forget  that  he  was  the  pioneer  of  a  new 
path.  We  complain  of  his  language  as  careless  and  unphilosophi- 
cal.  The  style  of  his  expression  was  determined  by  the  object  of 
his  writing.  He  hated  the  empty  and  illusive  jargon  of  the  schools; 
he  triad  to  bring  abstract  knowledge  within  the  range  of  the 
popular  comprehension.  The  Essay  was  the  first  English  work 
which  attracted  general  attention  to  metaphysical  speculation. 
When  public  curiosity  was  stimulated  by  the  attacks  which  were 
made  upon  its  liberal  views,  the  public  read  it,  understood  it. 
thought  about  it.  Now  that  the  inquiry  which  it  provoked  has 
produced  such  grand  results,  it  is  of  no  slight  significance  that  a 
great  modem  philosopher  calls  it  "the  richest  contribution  of  well- 
observed  and  well-described  facts  which  was  ever  bequeathed  by  a 
single  individual,  and  the  indisputable,  though  not  always  acknowl- 
edged, source  of  some  of  the  most  refined  conclusions  with  rapoct 
to  the  intellectual  phenomena  which  have  been  sinee  brought  to 
light  by  succeeding  inquirers." 


ISAAC     BARROW.  203 

From  the  causes  which  we  have  already  noted,  Locke  was  lesi 
exposed  than  most  thinkers  to  the  dangers  of  visionary  speculation. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  frequently  wrote  upon  subjects  of  interest  to 
himself  and  his  nation,  and  deserves  credit  for  his  freedom  from 
passion  and  party  prejudice.  Witness  the  calm  and  impartial  tone 
of  his  Letter  on  Toleration,  composed  while  he  himself  was  under 
the  ban  of  his  university  aud  his  government.  The  same  qualities 
characterize  his  Treatise  on  Civil  Government.  This  work  inaugu- 
rated a  new  state  of  political  sentiment  in  Europe.  Undertaken 
in  order  to  justify  the  principles  of  the  English  Revolution,  it 
vindicates  the  justice  of  popular  sovereignty.  Locke's  views  are 
not  always  the  most  profound,  nor  his  arguments  always  unim- 
peachable. Like  the  Essay,  the  value  of  the  Treatise  is  now  in 
great  measure  superseded  by  the  investigation  which  it  provoked. 
In  a  practical  way,  the  essay  on  Education  has  been  hardly  less 
influential  than  the  two  preceding  works.  Locke  himself  had  felt 
all  the  disadvantages  of  the  prevailing  method  of  instruction. 
He  makes  an  impressive  plea  for  a  more  liberal  and  practical  sys- 
tem, both  in  the  choice  of  the  subject-matter  to  be  taught,  and  in 
the  mode  of  conveying  instruction.  Taken  as  a  whole,  his  work  is 
a  monument  of  good  sense  and  sincere  benevolence.  It  did  much 
to  bring  about  that  beneficial  revolution  which  the  last  century  has 
effected  in  the  training  of  the  young.  Besides  these  works,  there 
may  be  mentioned  a  treatise  On  the  Reasonableness  of  Christianity, 
pervaded  by  a  spirit  of  calm  piety  which  decisively  contradicts  the 
statements  of  those  bigots  who  have  accused  Locke  of  irreligious 
tendencies.  After  his  death  a  small  but  admirable  little  work  was 
published,  entitled,  On  the  Conduct  of  the  Understanding.  It  is  a 
manual  of  reflections  upon  those  natural  defects  and  evil  habits  of 
the  mind  which  unfit  it  for  the  task  of  acquiring  knowledge,  and 
was  designed  to  form  a  supplementary  chapter  to  his  greater 
work.* 

Isaac  Barrow  (1630-1677)  stands  at  the  head  of  the  theologians 
of  his  time.  He  was  a  man  of  profound  attainments.  At  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  his  studies  took  a  wide  range.  He 
began  his  preparation  for  the  Church   before  the  establishment 

*  For  farther  discussions  of  this  topic  consult  Lewes's  History  of  Philosophy 
Vol.  II.,  and  Sir  James  Mackintosh  in  the  British  Essayists. 


204  ISAAC     BARROW. 

of  the  Commonwealth.  After  the  ascendency  of  Puritan  principles 
seemed  to  have  destroyed  his  prospects  for  preferment,  he  trans- 
ferred his  attention  to  medicine  and  the  natural  sciences.  Even 
after  his  return  to  theological  studies,  he  devoted  much  time  to  the 
classics  and  mathematics.  In  both  he  attained  distinguished  pro 
ficiency.  At  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  was  made  professor  of 
Greek  in  the  University;  and  with  this  appointment  he  soon  com- 
bined the  professorship  of  Geometry  in  Gresham  College.  In  1663 
he  resigned  both  chairs,  to  accept  the  Lucasian  professorship  of 
mathematics.  In  this  position,  which  he  filled  with  ability  lor  HI 
years,  he  fostered  and  befriended  the  rising  genius  of  Newton,  and 
it  was  to  Newton  that  he  resigned  his  office  in  1669.  His  Latin 
treatises  on  Optics,  Mechanics,  and  Astronomy,  established  his  rank 
among  the  best  mathematicians  of  his  age.  Indeed,  it  is  Barrow's 
misfortune  that  his  scientific  reputation  is  eclipsed  by  the  superior 
splendor  of  his  great  successor.  Had  he  not  lived  in  Newton's 
time,  and  pursued  nearly  the  same  branches  of  investigation,  he 
would  have  held  a  proud  place  among  English  scientists. 

Previous  to  resigning  his  professorship,  Barrow  had  taken  holy 
orders,  and  had  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  theological  pursuits. 
A  brilliant  and  useful  career  opened  at  once  before  him.  He  was 
made  one  of  the  King's  chaplains;  his  sermons  soon  became 
famous  (162)-  In  1672  lie  was  elected  Master  of  Trinity  College, 
the  King  remarking,  as  he  confirmed  the  appointment,  that  be  bad 
given  the  place  to  the  best  scholar  in  England.  In  1675  the  list 
of  his  honors  was  augmented  by  the  Vice-Chancel lorship  of  the 
University  of  Cambridge;  but  he  did  not  long  survive  this  last 
distinction.  His  death  occurred  at  the  early. age  of  forty-six,  in 
the  splandid  maturity  of  his  activity  and  his  talents. 

His  Pulpit  Eloquence.  Contemporaneous  accounts  state  that 
Barrow's  appearance  in  the  pulpit  was  far  from  imposing,  and  that 
the  beginning  of  his  discourses  was  always  hampered  by  diffidence 
and  embarrassment.  They  add,  however,  that  when  bia  enthusiasm 
was  fairly  awakened  by  his  subject,  the  magnetic  influence  of  his 
oratory  was  irresistible.  The  dignity  and  grandeur  of  his  sermons 
have  rarely  been  equaled.  He  attacks  and  vanquishes  the  most 
ponderous  difficulties  of  Protestant  theology  with  heroic 
Many  of  his  best  sermons  form  series,  devoted  to  the  exhaustive 


JOLK     TILLOTSON.      -  205 

explanation  of  particular  departments  of  religious  doctrine.  For 
instance,  one  excellent  series  discusses  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  is 
anatomized,  clause  by  clause.  Another,  consisting  of  eight  dis- 
courses, treats  of  the  government  of  the  tongue;  another,  of  the 
Decalogue ;  another,  of  the  Sacraments.  Each  and  all  of  these 
voluminous  productions — for  Barrow's  sermons  are  seldom  less  than 
an  hour  and  a  half  long — is  instinct  with  fervent  and  devout  pur- 
pose. The  ideas  are  expanded  with  such  mathematical  breadth 
and  exactness,  that  the  expression  sometimes  becomes  involved  and 
laborious.  But  there  is  no  empty  writing  ;  the  language  is  always 
filled  with  thought.  He  is  said  to  have  been  scrupulously  attentive 
to  the  composition  of  his  sermons,  and  to  have  subjected  many  to  a 
third  and  fourth  revision.  His  style  is  always  pure  and  nervous, 
and  sometimes  vivacious ;  occasionally  single  passages  attain  a  rich 
conciseness.  He  writes  almost  without  imagery  or  illustration. 
The  teeming  fancy  which  made  Jeremy  Taylor's  discourses  such 
marvels  of  poetical  beauty  was  in  him  displaced  by  the  activity 
of  reason.  There  is  no  English  prose  writer  of  that  day  whose 
works  would  be  more  invigorating  to  the  mind  or  better  adapted 
to  the  formation  of  a  pure  taste.  Nor  can  there  be  a  better  proof 
that  the  most  capable  critics  have  agreed  in  this  opinion,  than  the 
fact  that  Chatham  recommended  Barrow  to  his  son  as  the  finest 
model  of  eloquence,  and  that  the  accomplished  Landor  has  not 
hesitated  to  place  him   above  the  greatest  of  the  ancient  thinkers. 

John  Tillotson  (1630-1694),  though  his  mental  force  was  far 
inferior  to  that  of  Barrow,  stands  next  him  among  the  pulpit- 
orators  of  the  time.  While  studying  at  Cambridge  he  made  himself 
conspicuous  by  his  decided  Puritan  sympathies ;  but  in  later  life 
his  views  gradually  assimilated  themselves  to  those  of  the  Anglican 
Church.  He  finally  took  holy  orders,  and  in  the  reign  of  William 
and  Mary  rose  to  the  dignity  of  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The 
change  of  party  seems  to  have  wrought  no  effect  upon  him  beyond 
an  increase  of  candor  and  of  indulgence  for  all  shades  of  sincere 
opinion.  He  was  renowned  as  a  preacher;  although  his  sermons 
fall  far  short  of  Barrow's  in  power  and  originality,  they  are  quite 
as  well  adapted  to  command  popularity.  Good  sense  and  earnest- 
ness are  their  most  laudable  characteristics ;  their  piety  is  sincere 
without  being  very  elevated,  and  their  style  is  easy,  perspicuous, 


206  •         ROBERT     SOUTH. 

and  unaffected  (163)^  Languor  and  tediousness  sometimes  mar 
their  excellence  of  expression ;  the  sentences  are  often  singularly 
unmusical ;  and  the  evident  effort  to  maintain  a  colloquial  tone 
frequently  introduces  trivial  images  and  illustrations.  But  Tillot- 
son's^sermons  long  preserved  a  wide  reputation,  not  only  as  examples 
of  practical  piety,  but  as  admirable  specimens  of  composition. 
Dryden  did  not  hesitate  to  own  that  his  own  prose  style  was  formed 
after  Tillotson's.  "  If  I  have  any  talent  for  English,"  he  said,  "  it 
is  owing  to  my  having  often  read  the  writings  of  the  Archbishop 
Tillotson." 

Robert  South  (1633-1716),  reputed  the  wittiest  churchman  of 
his  time,  was  also  the  most  bigoted  of  those  clergymen  who  upheld 
the  peculiar  principles  of  the  Stuart  dynasty.  He  was  an  apostate 
from  the  Puritan  party.  Oxford  had  imbued  him  with  the  doc- 
trines of  passive  obedience  and  th*  divine  right  of  kings;  and  his 
resolute  maintenance  of  these  opinions  combined  with  the  qualities 
of  his  pulpit  oratory  to  secure  him  great  popularity  during  the 
reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. 

By  the  animation  of  his  manner,  and  by  an  amiable  conformity 
to  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  polite  society,  he  charmed  his 
courtly  audiences.  His  sermons  are  easy  and  colloquial  in  tone, 
frequently  enlivened  by  witty  passages  and  pleasant  anecdotes. 
The  judgment  of  our  day  detects  his  lack  of  devout  sincerity,  and 
condemns  his  fulsome  homage  to  the  royal  power  no  less  than  his 
intolerant  denunciation  of  liberal  principles.  But  it  must  be 
admitted  that  he  is  a  master  of  racy,  idiomatic  English  (164)-  He 
has  surpassed  his  greater  and  worthier  contemporaries  in  hi» 
admirable  blending  of  ease  and  harmony  of  expression  with  mas- 
culine vigor  of  thought. 

The  Progress  of  Physical  Scienoe.  There  are  few  episodes  in 
the  history  of  human  knowledge  more  surprising  than  the  sudden 
and  dazzling  progress  made  in  the  physical  sciences  towards  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  This  progress  is  visible  in  Ger- 
many, in  Holland,  and  in  France;  but  in  none  of  these  count ries 
more  than  in  England.  It  was  just  and  natural  that  the  vivifying 
effect  produced  by  the  writings  and  by  the  method  of  Bacon  should 
be  peculiarly  powerful  in  that  country  which  gave  birth  to  the 


SIR     ISAAC     NEWTON.  207 

great  reformer  of  philosophy.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  develop- 
ment of  free  institutions  and  open  discussion  exercised  a  powerful 
influence  in  facilitating  research,  in  promoting  a  spirit  of  inquiry, 
and  in  rendering  possible  the  open  expression  of  opinion.  The 
renowned  Royal  Society  *  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  great 
movement,  especially  in  the  branches  of  physics  and  natural 
history. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  (1642-1727)  was  born  at  Woolsthorpe,  in 
Lincolnshire.  From  his  earliest  boyhood  he  showed  taste  and 
aptitude  for  mechanical  invention;  and  entering  the  University 
of  Cambridge  in  1660,  he  made  such  rapid  progress  in  mathe- 
matical studies  that  in  nine  years  Barrow  resigned  in  his  i'avor 
the  Lucasian  professorship.  The  greater  part  of  Newton's  life  was 
passed  within  the  quiet  walls  of  Trinity  College.  It  was  there 
that  he  elaborated  those  admirable  discoveries  and  demonstrations 
in  Mechanics,  Astronomy,  and  Optics,  which  have  placed  his 
name  in  the  foremost  rank  of  the  benefactors  of  mankind.  He  sat 
in  more  than  one  Parliament  as  member  for  his  university  ;  but  he 
appears  to  have  been  of  too  reserved  and  retiring  a  character  to  take 
an  active  part  in  political  discussion.  He  was  appointed  Warden 
of  the  Mint  in  1695,  and  promptly  abandoned  those  researches  in 
which  he  stands  almost  alone  among  mankind,  devoting  all  his 
energy  and  attention  to  the  public  duties  that  had  been  committed 
to  his  charge.  In  1703  he  was  made  president  of  the  Royal  Society, 
and  knighted  two  years  afterwards  by  Queen  Anne.  He  died  in 
1727.  His  character,  whose  only  defect  seems  to  have  been  a  some- 
what cold  and  suspicious  temper,  was  the  type  of  those  virtues 
which  should  distinguish  the  scholar,  the  philosopher,  and  the 
patriot.  His  modesty  was  as  great  as  his  genius ;  and  he  invaria- 
bly ascribed  the  attainment  of  his  discoveries  to  patient  attention 
rather  than  to  any  unusual  capacity  of  intellect.  His  English 
writings  are  chiefly  discourses  upon  the  prophecies  and  chronology 
:>f  the  Scriptures.  They  are  composed  in  a  manly,  plain,  and  un- 
affected style,  breathe  an  earnest  spirit  of  piety,  and  indicate  that 
his  opinions  inclined  towards  the  Unitarian  theology.     His  glory, 

*  This  society  originated  in  the  meeting  of  a  few  learned  men  at  each  other's 
houses.    It  was  incorporated  in  1662,  by  Charles  EL 


208        ROBERT     DOYLE,     THOMAS     BURNET. 

however,  rests  upon  his  purely  scientific  works,  the  Phihsophia 
Naturalis  Principia  Mathematical;  and  the  invaluable  treatise  on 
Optica,  of  which  latter  science  he  may  be  said  to  have  first  laid  the 
foundation  (169). 

Robert  Boyle  (1627-1691).  "  No  Englishman  of  "the  seventeenth 
century,  after  Lord  Bacon,  raised  himself  to  so  high  a  reputation 
in  experimental  philosophy  as  Robert  Boyle  ;  it  has  even  been  re- 
marked that  he  was   born  in  the  year  of  Bacon's  death,  as  the 

person  destined  by  Nature  to  succeed  him His  works 

occupy  six  large  volumes  in  quarto.  They  may  be  divided  into 
theological  or  metaphysical,  and  physical  or  experimental.  The 
metaphysical  treatises  of  Boyle,  or  rather  those  concerning  Natural 
Theology,  are  very  perspicuous,  very  free  from  system,  and  such 
as  bespeak  an  independent  lover  of  truth."  His  discussions  of 
physics  contain  views  that  were  new  then,  but  now  are  commonly 
held  ;  he  discovered  the  law  concerning  the  elasticity  of  the  air, 
and  was  the  first  to  note  that  the  science  of  chemistry  pertains  to 
the  atomic  constituents  of  bodies  (166). 

Thomas  Burnet  (1635-1715),  Master  of  the  Charter-house,  was 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  writers  of  this  period.  He  was 
author  of  the  eloquent  and  poetic  declamation,  The  Sacred  Theory 
of  the  Earth,  a  work  written  in  both  Latin  and  English,  and  giving 
an  hypothetical  account  of  the  causes  which  produced  the  various 
irregularities  and  undulations  in  the  Earth's  surface.  His  geo- 
logical and  physical  theories  are  fantastic  in  the  extreme;  but  his 
pictures  of  the  devastation  caused  by  the  unbridled  powers  of 
Nature  are  grand  and  magnificent,  and  give  him  a  claim  to  be 
placed  among  the  most  eloquent  and  poetical  of  p»ose- writers  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 

This  writer  must  not  be  confounded  with  Gilbert  Burnet 
(1643-1715),  a  Scotchman,  who  was  one  of  the  most  active  poli- 
ticians and  divines  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
(168)-  He  held  a  middle  place  between  the  extreme  Episcopal 
and  Presbyterian  parties;  and  although  a  own  of  ardent  ami  busy 
character,  he  was  tolerant  and  candid.  He  was  celebrated  for  his 
talents  as  an  extempore  preacher,  and  was  the  author  of  a  very 
large  number  of  theological  and  political  writings.     Among  these 


GILBERT     BURNET.  209 

his  History  of  the  Reformation  is  still  considered  one  of  the  most 
valuable  accounts  of  that  important  revolution.  He  also  gave  an 
account  of  the  life  and  death  of  the  witty  and  infamous  Rochester, 
whose  last  moments  he  attended  as  a  religious  adviser,  and  whom 
his  pious  arguments  recalled  to  repentance.  He  at  one  time 
enjoyed  the  favor  of  Charles  II.,  but  soon  forfeited  it,  by  the  bold- 
ness of  his  remonstrances  against  the  profligacy  of  the  King,  and 
by  his  defence  of  Lord  William  Russell.  Burnet  also  published  an 
Exposition  of  the  XXXIX  Articles.  On  falling  into  disgrace  at 
Court  he  traveled  on  the  Continent,  and  afterwards  attached  him- 
self closely  to  the  service  of  William  of  Orange  at  the  Hague.  At 
the  Revolution,  Burnet  accompanied  the  Deliverer  on  his  expedition 
to  England,  took  a  very  active  part  in  controversy  and  political 
negotiation,  and  was  raised  to  the  Bishopric  of  Salisbury.  In  this 
office  he  gave  a  noble  example  of  the  zeal,  tolerance,  and  humanity 
which  should  be  the  chief  virtues  of  a  Christian  pastor.  He  died 
in  1715,  leaving  the  MS.  of  his  most  important  work,  the  History 
of  My  Own  Times,  which  he  directed  to  be  published  after  the  lapse 
of  six  years.  This  work  is  not  inferior  in  value  to  Clarendon's, 
which  represents  the  events  of  English  history  from  a  nearly  oppo- 
site point  of  view.  Burnet  is  minute,  familiar,  and  gossipy,  but 
lively  and  generally  trustworthy.  No  one  who  desires  to  make 
acquaintance  with  a  very  critical  and  agitated  period  of  *English 
history  can  dispense  with  the  materials  he  has  accumulated. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

The  Philosophers  and  Theologians  of  Locke's  Time* 

1.  John  Locke, —  His    Relation    to  Shaftesbury, — 

His   Contribution  to  English  Thought. 

2.  Isaac  Barroiv,—His  Pulpit  Eloquence. 

3.  John  Tillotson,  Robert  South. 

4.  The  Progress  of  Physical  Science. 

5.  Sir  Isaac  Neivfon,  Robert  Boyle,  Thomas  Bur* 

net,  Gilbert  Burnet. 


THE  SO-CALLED   METAPHYSI- 
CAL   POETS. 


RELIGIOUS  WRITERS  OF  THE 
CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  COM- 
MONWEALTH. 


r  John  Donne, 
Edmund  Waller, 
Abraham  Cowley, 
Sir  William  Davenant, 
Sir  John  Denham, 
George  Wither, 
Francis  Quarles, 
George  Herbert, 
Richard  Crashaw. 

William  Chilling  wobtf. 
Sir  Thomas  Browne, 
Thomas  Fuller, 
Jeremy  Taylor. 


— I    o 
o  g 


JOHN    MILTON. 


& 


THE   LITERATURE  OF  THE 
RESTORATION. 


Samuel  Butler, 
John  Bunyan, 
Izaak  Walton, 
John  Evelyn, 
Samuel  Pepys, 

Edward  Hyde,  Earl  of  Clarendot. 
.  Thomas  Hobbes. 


JOHN    DRYDEN. 


THE   CORRUPT   DRAMA. 


William  Wycherley, 
William  Congreve, 
Sir  John  Yanbrogh, 
George  Farquhab, 
[Jeremy  Collier], 
Nathaniel  Lee, 
Nicholas  Rows. 


THE  PHILOSOPHERS  AND 
THEOLOGIANS  OF  LOCKE'S 
TIME. 


John  Locke, 
[|AAC   Harrow, 
John  Tillotsok, 
Robert  South, 

Sii;    U  \  \.     NkWTON, 

Robert  Boyle, 

TlloM  \s     I'.IUNKT, 

Gilbert  Burnet. 


CHAPTER  XVHI. 

THE  ARTIFICIAL   POETS  OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

THE  Augustan  Age  was  the  name  given  to  the  epoch  of 
literature  immediately  succeeding  the  time  of  Dryden. 
It  is  generally  spoken  of  as  bounded  by  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne ;  but  the  best  fruit  of  the  writers  of  her  reign  ripened 
in  the  reign  of  George  I.  The  vigor,  harmony,  and  care- 
less yet  majestic  regularity  found  in  the  powerful  writers 
of  the  school  of  the  Kestoration  were  given  a  yet  higher 
polish  by  the  elegant  writers  of  the  first  third  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Three  men — Pope,  Swift,  and  Addi- 
son— stand  in  the  front  rank ;  and  these  three  men,  who 
make  their  generation  famous  in  the  history  of  English 
literature,  were  great  as  satirists.  They  expressed  the  criti- 
cal spirit  of  the  age.  One  of  them  was  a  poet;  but  his  song, 
instead  of  breathing  such  love  of  nature  or  of  man  as  other 
songs  have,  was  filled  with  hatred  and  contempt ;  another 
was  an  eminent  clergyman,  but  his  zeal  spent  itself  in 
violating  rather  than  in  teaching  the  gentle  precepts  of 
the  gospel ;  the  third,  a  man  distinguished  in  the  service  of 
the  state,  was  so  genial,  so  gentle,  so  mirthful,  that  though 
he  poked  his  fun  at  all  sorts  of  English  follies,  he  did  it 
with  such  winning  words  and  with  such  charming  grace 
that  satire  lost  'its  severity  and  was  redeemed  from  its 
meanness. 


212  pop  I-:. 


ALEXANDER  POPE. 

"  He  was  about  four  feet  six  inches  high,  very  humpbacked  and  deformed.  H« 
wore  a  black  coat,  and,  according  to  the  fashion  of  that  time,  had  on  a  little  sword. 
He  had  a  large  and  very  fine  eye,  and  a  long,  handsome  nose  ;  his  mouth  had  those 
peculiar  marks  which  are  always  found  in  the  mouths  of  crooked  persons,  and  the 
muscles  which  run  across  the  cheek  were  bo  strongly  marked  that  they  seemed  like 
small  cords."— Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

"  King  Alexander  had  great  merit  as  a  writer,  and  his  title  to  the  kingdom  of  wit 
was  better  founded  than  his  enemies  have  pretended."—  Henry  Melding. 

•'If  Pope  must  yield  to  other  poets  in  point  of  fertility  of  fancy,  yet  in  point 
of  propriety,  closeness, 'and  elegance  of  diction  he  can  yield  to  none." — Joseph 
Warton. 

"No  poet's  verse  ever  mounted  higher  than  that  wonderful  flight  with  which  the 
Dunciad  concludes.  In  these  astonishing  lines  Pope  reaches,  I  think,  to  the  very 
greatest  height  which  his  sublime  art  has  attained,  and  shows  himself  the  equal 
of  all  poets  of  all  times."—  W.  M.  Thackeray. 

"  At  fifteen  years  of  age  I  got  acquainted  with  Mr.  Walsh.  He  encouraged  me 
much,  and  used  to  tell  me  that  there  was  one  way  left  of  excelling  ;  for  though  we 
have  several  great  poets,  we  never  had  any  one  great  poet  that  was  correct."— 
Alexander  Pope. 

"Pope's  rhymes   too    often    supply   the    defect   of    hi«    reasons."  -Richard 

Whately. 

"  There  are  no  pictures  of  nature  or  of  simple  emotion  in  all  his  writings.  He 
is  the  poet  of  town  life  and  of  high  life  and  of  literary  life,  and  seems  so  much  afraid 
of  incurring  ridicule  by  the  display  of  feeling  or  unregulated  fancy  that  it  is  not 
difficult  to  believe  that  he  would  have  thought  such  ridicule  well  directed."— 
Francis  Jeffrey. 

"  The  most  striking  characteristics  of  his  poetry  are  lucid  arrangement  of  matter, 
doaeneeeof  argument,  marvellous  condensation  of  thought  and  expression,  bril- 
liancy of  fancy  ever  supplying  the  aptcst  illustrations,  and  language  elaborately 
finished  almost  beyond  example."— Alexander  Dyce. 

•'As  truly  as  Shakespeare  is  the  poet  of  man  as  God  made  him,  deal  in  g  with 
great  passions  and  innate  motives,  so  truly  is  Popo  the  poet  of  society,  the  delineator 
of  manners,  the  exposer  of  those  motives  which  may  be  called  acquired,  whose 
spring  is  in  institutions  and  habits  of  purely  worldly  origin."—,/.  Ti.  Lowell. 

Alexander  Pope  (1688-1744)  stands  far  above  alt  other 
poets  of  his  time.  Be  was  bom  in  London  and  was  of  a 
Oatholic  family.  His  lather  was  a  merchant  who  had  ac- 
quired i-uihcicnl  property  to  n't  ire  from  business  and  to 
enjoy  the  leisure  of  his  rural  home  near  Windsor.  The 
boy  was  dwarfish  in  body,  and  so  deformed  that  his  life  was 


pope.  213 

".  that  long  disease."  His  mind  was  precocious.  Before  he 
was  twelve  years  old,  he  had  written  an  Ode  to  Solitude, 
displaying  a  thoughtfulness  far  beyond  his  years.  In  re- 
ferring to  his  early  literary  attempts  he  says, 

"  As  yet  a  child,  and  all  unknown  to  fame, 
I  lisped  in  numbers,  for  the  numbers  came." 

During  his  childhood  he  indulged  that  taste  for  study  and 
poetical  reading  which 'became  the  passion  of  his  life.  He 
had  special  admiration  for  Dryden,  and  once  obtained  a 
glance  at  the  revered  poet  seated  in  his  easy  chair  at  Will's 
Coffee  House.  At  sixteen  he  composed  his  Pastqrals  and 
translated  portions  of  Statius.  From  this  time  his  activity 
was  unremitting  ;  and  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  works, 
varied  in  their  subjects  and  exquisite  in  their  finish,  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  the  poets  of  his  age. 

He  was  a  man  most  peculiar  in  his  appearance  ;  so  little 
that  a  high  chair  was  needed  for  him  at  the  table*,  so  weak 
and  sickly  that  he  could  not  stand  unless  tied  up  in  band- 
ages", so  sensitive  to  the  cold  that  he  was  wrapped  in  flannels 
and  furs,  and  had  his  feet  encased  in  three  pairs  of  stockings. 
He  was  in  constant  need  of  the  attentions  of  a  body-servant; 
he  could  not  dress  or  undress  himself.  His  deformity 
gave  him  the  nickname  of  "The  Interrogation  Point." 
But  this  unfortunate  man  had  a  fine  face  and  a  glowing 
eye.  In  his  dress  he  was  fastidious,  appearing  in  a  court 
suit,  decorated  with  a  little  sword.  His  manners,  too,  were 
elegant.  Whether  patient  or  impatient  about  it,  he  had  to 
bear  the  constant  reminder  of  his  physical  infirmities  as  he 
looked  upon  the  stately  figures  of  men  who  were  his  com- 
panions and  his  literary  rivals.  Rollicking  Dick  Steele  waa 
large  and  strong,  Addison  had  the  fatness  ascribed  to  good- 
nature, Swift  was  compelled  to  exercise  most  vigorously  in 
keeping  down  his  flesh,  Gay  and  Thomson  were  hale  ;  these 
jolly  men  could  spend  their  nights  in  choice  revelries,  laugh- 


214  POPE. 

ing  over  the  best  of  wit  and  humor,  but  "poor  Pope"  had 
no  stomach,  he  must  be  quiet  and  thin  and  sick. 

Pope's  culture  was  not  gained  in  the  school-room.  He 
was  permitted  to  roam  over  the  fields  of  learning  wherever 
his  fancy  might  lead  him.  The  songs  of  stately  writers  had 
most  charm  for  him,  and  so  he  studied  Spenser,  Waller  and 
Dryden.  They  were  men  who  believed  that  poetry  con- 
sisted in  elegant  expression,  rather  than  in  the  thought; 
they  had  detected  and  disclosed  the  arts  of  poetry.  They 
had  gained  more  success  than  others  in  the  very  walk  where 
Pope  must  journey,  if  he  would  listen  to  the  call  of  his 
muse,  and  he  was  true  to  the  bent  of  his  nature  in  seeking 
culture  from  them.  Pope's  father  was  a  merchant,  who  had 
taste  for  literature  as  well  as  pride  in  the  precocity  of  his  son. 
He  fondly  watched  the  spark  of  genius  in  his  boy,  and  gently 
fanned  it  into  flame  by  assigning  the  subjects  for  his  song, 
and  by  praising  or  censuring  when  the  little  poet  had  done 
his  singing. 

The  Influence  of  His  Intimate  Friends.  On  account  of 
his  helplessness  throughout  his  life,  Pope,  like  a  child,  was 
specially  subject  to  the  influence  of  those  who  petted  him. 
His  mother,  though  ignorant,  simple-hearted,  and  ruled  by  her 
doting  love,  influenced  him  in  all  things,  even  in  his  literary 
work.  Until  her  death  the  poet  was  her  child,  her  "deare." 
She  could  tell  him  more  confidingly  than  another  could, 
how  wonderful  he  was.  As  he  was  more  sensitive  to  ridicule 
than  any  other  man  ever  was,  he  was  aTso  fonder  of  praise. 
He  had  a  sickly  craving  for  admiration  ;  and  that  doting 
mother,  by  satisfying  his  craving,  helped  him.  She  nursed 
the  self-appreciation  which  cheered  him  in  his  work.  Swift, 
too,  gave  him  the  praise  he  asked.  The  Dean  of  Dublin 
had  but  to  say,  "  When  you  think  of  the  world,  give  it  one 
more  lash  at  my  request,"  and  he  could  inspire  the  poet. 
The  Dunciad  is  more   defiant,   sharper,  more  cruel   than 


pope.  215 

it  could  have  been  had  Pope  not  found  an  applauding 
brother  in  Swift,  a  man  who  hated  and  detested  everything 
and  everybody  except  the  few  whom  he  loved.  The  wit, 
the  eloquence,  the  elegance,  the  literary  taste  and  the  politi- 
cal sentiments  of  Bolingbroke  made  him  the  object  of  Pope's 
admiration.  Bolingbroke's  dazzling  life  blinded  Pope  to  his 
faults.  An  intimate  friendship  between  them  brought  the 
poet  under  powerful  and  pernicious  influences.  To  have 
one's  distinguishing  weakness  nourished  as  Pope's  was  by 
liis  mother,  to  be  loved  by  the  sturdiest,  heartiest  and  most 
terrible  of  haters,  and  to  receive  the  patronage  and  praises 
of  the  most  dashing,  the  most  attractive  and  the  most 
worthless  public  man  of  the  time,  was  enough  to  deform 
even  a  poet's  soul. 

Great  Influence  of  His  Age.  Before  considering  Pope's 
literary  work,  we  must  remind  ourselves  of  the  peculiar 
influence  exerted  upon  him  by  his  age.  Much  that  has 
been  charged  upon  him  belongs  to  the  time  in  which  he 
wrote.  Was  he  narrow  ?  was  he  shallow  ?  was  he  conceited? 
The  age  was  so.  All  of  its  writers  caught  its  spirit,  though 
it  may  be  that  Pope  is  its  most  striking  representative. 
There  was  conceit  in  the  air.  It  was  the  special  weakness 
of  Englishmen  throughout  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
especially  in  the  earlier  part  of  it,  to  be  satisfied  with  their 
work.  The  security  of  the  government  seemed  to  be  estab- 
lished, wealth  was  accumulating,  the  influence  of  the  nation 
abroad  was  increasing,  and  the  moral  tone  of  the  literature 
was  improving.  Indeed,  there  was  a  peculiar  complacency 
towards  the  literature ;  and  there  was  reason  in  this  com- 
placency, for  the  age  was  the  first  one  using  the  press  to  an 
extent  that  made  it  a  far-reaching  power  among  the  people. 
Under  these  influences,  political,  social,  and  literary,  the 
national  conceit  was  stimulated.  There  was  a  conviction 
that  the  age  had  better  sense  than  any  one  of  its  predeces- 


216  pope. 

sors.  In  his  essay  on  Dryden  and  Tope,  Hazlitt  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  expression  of  this  sentiment  in  the  poetry  of  the 
time,  and  shows  that  Pope  was  subject  to  its  influence. 
Even  the  rhyming  of  his  verse  was  unconsciously  affected 
by  the  watch- word,  ff  sense."  * 

The  Essay  on  Criticism  (170),  published  in  1711,  was  the 
first  poem  that  fixed  Pope's  reputation  and  gave  him  a  fore- 
taste of  the  popularity  which  he  was  to  enjoy  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  It  was  a  remarkable  production  for 
a  man  of  twenty  years ;  yet  much  of  the  praise  given  to  it 
is  extravagant.  It  has  no  claim  to  originality.  It  is  merely 
a  collating  of  the  principles  of  criticism  stated  by  Horace, 
by  Shakespeare  and  by  other  poets  and  critics.     Still  in  the 

*  "  As  a  proof  of  the  exclusive  attention  which  it  occupied  in  their  minds,  it  is  re- 
markable that  in  the  Essay  on  Criticism,  (not  a  very  long  poem)  there  are  no  less 
than  half  a  score  of  successive  couplets  rhyming  to  the  word  sense.  This  appears 
almost  incredible  without  giving  the  instances,  and  no  less  so  when  they  are  given." 

41  But  of  the  two,  less  dangerous  is  the  offence 
To  tire  our  patience  than  mislead  our  sense."    (Lines  8,  4.) 

44  In  search  of  wit  these  lose  their  common  sense, 
And  then  turn  critics  in  their  own  defence."    (Lines  28,  29.) 

"  Pride,  where  wit  fails,  steps  in  to  our  defence, 
And  fills  up  all  the  mighty  void  of  sense."    (Lines  209-10.) 

M  Some  by  old  words  to  fame  have  made  pretence, 
Ancients  in  phrase,  mere  moderns  in  their  sense."    (Lines  824-5.) 

'Tis  not  enough  no  harshness  gives  offence, 

The  sound  must  seem  an  echo  to  the  sense."    (Lines  864-5  ) 

4  At  every  trifle  scorn  to  take  offence  ; 
That  always  shows  great  pride  or  little  sense."    (Lines  886-7.) 

'4  Be  silent  always,  when  you  doubt  your  sense. 
And  speak,  though  sure,  with  seeming  diftidouce."    (Lines  666-7.) 

14  Be  niggards  of  advice  on  no  pred-nce. 
For  th  •  worst  avarice  is  ih;it  of  sense."     (Lines  578-9.) 

14  Strain  onl  the  last  dull  dropping!  of  their  sense. 
And  rhyme  with  all  the  rag!  of  impotence."     (Lines  008-9.) 

4  Horace  still  charms  with  graceful  negligence 
And  without  method  talks  M  into  sense."     ^Liues  G53  4  ) 


POPE.  217 

poem  there  are  sparkling  beauties,  and  there  is  music  in  its 
cadence  answering  to  the  severe  demands  of  poetic  art.  It 
is  dainty,  but  not  insipid;  it  has  fervor,  without  any  sacri- 
fice of  dignity ;  though  lacking  originality,  it  is  not  lacking 
in  excellence  of  judgment.  Pope's  general  aim  seems  to  have 
been  to  produce  faultless  verse  ;  but  in  this  poem  his  aim  was 
not  certain.  Many  an  unfriendly  critic  has  called  attention 
to  his  faulty  rhymes.  Indeed,  he  gave  himself  license  to  do 
what  he  would  have  ridiculed  in  another.  But  whatever 
its  defects  may  be,  the  Essay  on  Criticism  has  the  excellence 
of  concise  and  vigorous  expression  to  such  a  degree  that  it 
has  supplied  our  current  literature  with  quotations  in  larger 
numbers  than  any  other  poem  of  equal  length  not  written 
by  Shakespeare  or  Milton. 

The  Rape  of  the  Lock.  A  man  of  over-nice  taste  exhausts 
himself  and  wearies  his  readers  by  discussing  profound 
themes.  Had  Pope  confined  his  thoughts  to  the  philoso- 
phy of  criticism,  or  to  the  study  of  man,  his  charming 
poetical  talent  would  have  been  undiscovered.  The  lighter 
argument,  the  fanciful  narrative,  the  raillery  of  the  draw- 
ing-room, display  his  sparkling  talents.  The  Kape  of  the 
Lock  (172),  sketched  in  his  early  literary  life,  is  the  most 
sparkling  of  his  works,  a  masterpiece,  equally  felicitous  in 
its  plan  and  in  its  execution.  Addison  pronounced  it  "a 
delicious  little  thing,"  and  later  critics  agree  in  thinking 
that  it  is  superior  to  any  other  mock-heroic  composition. 
Lord  Petre,  a  man  of  fashion  at  the  court  of  Queen  Anne, 
had  cut  a  lock  of  hair  from  the  head  of  Arabella  Fermor. 
a  beautiful  young  maid  of  honor,  and  by  the  act  had  given 
such  offence  that  a  quarrel  had  ensued  between  the  two 
families.  Pope's  poem  was  an  attempt  to  laugh  the  quar- 
relers into  good  nature.  In  this  he  was  not  successful,  but 
he  wrote  with  such  grace  and  pleasantry  that  his  fame  was 
heightened.  Addison  was  so  delighted  by  the  first  sketch  of 
10 


218  Pope. 

the  poem  that  he  strongly  advised  Pope  to  refrain  from 
attempting  any  amendment ;  but  Pope,  fortunately  for  hia 
glory,  added  supernatural  characters  to  the  story,  with  ex- 
quisite skill  adapting  sylphs  and  gnomes  to  the  frivolous 
persons  and  events  of  the  poem. 

His  Eclogues.  In  1713  he  published  his  pastoral  eclogues 
entitled  Windsor  Forest.  Their  beauty  of  versification  and 
neatness  of  diction  do  all  they  can  to  compensate  for  the 
absence  of  that  deep  feeling  for  Nature  which  the  poetry  of 
the  eighteenth  century  did  not  possess.  The  plan  of  this 
work  is  principally  borrowed  from  Denham's  Coo/xr's  Hill. 
In  1715  Pope  published  modernized  versions  of  Chaucer,  as 
if  he  were  desirous  in  all  things  to  imitate  his  master 
Dryden. 

His  Translation  of  Homer.  At  this  time,  too,  Pope  under- 
took the  laborious  enterprise  of  translating  into  English 
verse  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey.  He  was  disheartened 
when  brought  face  to  face  with  the  vastness  of  his  under- 
taking ;  but  with  practice  came  facility,  and  the  whole  of 
the  Iliad  was  successfully  given  to  the  world  by  the  \ear 
1720.  The  work  was  published  by  subscription,  and 
brought  about  seven  thousand  pounds  to  Pope.  That 
money  laid  the  foundation  of  the  competence  which  he 
enjoyed  with  good  sense  and  moderation.  The  Odyssey  did 
not  appear  till  five  years  later  ;  and  of  this  he  himself  trans- 
lated only  twelve  of  the  twenty-four  books,  employing  for 
the  remaining  half  the  assistance  of  contemporary  poets. 
Mechanically  this  translation  is  not  unfaithful  ;  but  in  re- 
producing the  spirit  of  the  original,  the  ballad-like  \ 
of  Chapman  is  far  superior.  Bentley's  criticism  is,  after  all, 
the  best  and  most  comprehensive  that  has  yet  been  made 
on  this  work:  "It  is  a  pretty  poem,  Mr.  Pope,  but  add 
must  not  call  it  Homer."     It  seems  unfortunate  that  D:v 


pope.  21a 

den  and  Pope  had  not  exchanged  parts  in  their  selection  of 
the  two  ancient  epic  writers  as  subjects  of  translation. 
Dryden,  though  perhaps  incapable  of  reproducing  the 
wonderful  freshness  and  grandeur  of  Homer,  still  possessed 
more  of  the  Homeric  quality  of  fire  and  animation ;  while 
Pope,  in  whom  grace  and  finish  are  the  prevailing  merits, 
would  have  far  more  successfully  reproduced  the  dignity, 
the  chastened  majesty,  of  Virgil.  In  Dryden,  a  careless, 
self-assured  dexterity  is  perceptible,  not  accompanied  by 
much  passion,  nor  by  much  depth  of  sentiment,  but  impos- 
ing from  its  conscious  ease;  in  Pope,  we  find  keener 
thought,  more  refined  acuteness,  and  neatness  of  expression. 
Both  are  deficient  in  appreciation  of  external  nature  and  of 
simple  humanity. 

Other  compositions  of  Pope  belonging  to  his  early  life, 
are  the  Elegy  on  an  Unfortunate  Lady,  the  Epistle  from 
Sappho  to  Phaon,  borrowed  from  the  Heroides  of  Ovid,  and 
the  Epistle  of  Eloisa  to  Abelard.  During  this  part  of  his 
life  Pope  was  living  with  his  father  and  mother  at  Chis- 
wick;  but  on  the  death  of  his  father,  he  removed  with  his 
mother  to  a  villa  he  had  purchased  at  Twickenham,  at  a 
most  beautiful  spot  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames.  There 
he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  in  easy,  if  not  in  opulent 
circumstances ;  his  taste  for  gardening,  and  his  grotto  and 
quincunxes,  in  which  he  delighted,  amused  his  leisure.  He 
lived  in  familiar  intercourse  with  illustrious  statesmen, 
orators,  and  men  of  letters  of  his  day, — with  Swift,  Atter- 
bury,  Bolingbroke,  Prior,  Gay,  and  Arbuthnot.  In  1725 
he  published  an  edition  of  Shakespeare,  in  six  volumes. 
This  work  was  severely  and  justly  criticised  by  Theobald  in 
his  Shakespeare  Restored,  an  offence  deeply  resented  by  the 
sensitive  poet  We  shall  see  by-and-by  how  savagely  he 
revenged  himself.  During  the  three  years  following  he  was 
engaged  with   Swift,  Arbuthnot,  Gay,  and  others,  in  com- 


220  POPE. 

posing  that  famous  collection  of  Miscellanies  to  which  each 
of  the  friends  contributed.  The  aim  of  the  fellow-laborers 
was  to  satirize  the  abuses  of  learning  and  the  extra vagauces 
of  philosophy.  It  was  entitled  Memoirs  of  Martinus  v 
lerus.  Pope's  admirable  satiric  genius,  however,  seems  to  have 
deserted  him  instantly  when  he  abandoned  verse  for  prose. 
With  the  exception  of  Arbuthnot's  burlesque  History  of 
John  Bull,  these  Miscellanies  are  hardly  worthy  the  fame  of 
their  authors. 

The  Dunciad.  Pope's  brilliant  success,  his  popularity, 
the  tinge  of  vanity  and  malignity  in  his  disposition,  and 
above  all,  the  supercilious  tone  in  which  he  speaks  of  other 
authors,  raised  around  him  a  swarm  of  enemies,  animated 
alike  by  envy  and  revenge.  Determining,  therefore,  to  in- 
flict upon  these  gnats  and  mosquitoes  of  the  press  a  memo- 
rable castigation,  he  composed  the  satire  of  the  Dunciad,  the 
primary  idea  of  which  may  have  been  suggested  by  Dry  den's 
MacFlecknoe.  It  is  incomparably  the  fiercest,  most  sweep- 
ing, and  most  powerful  satire  that  exists  in  the  whole  range 
of  English  literature.  In  it  he  flays  and  dismembers  and 
boils  and  roasts  the  scribblers  whom  he  attacks.  Most  oi 
them  are  so  obscure  that  their  names  are  now  rescued  from 
oblivion  by  being  embalmed  in  Pope's  satire,  like  rubbish 
preserved  in  the  lava  of  a  volcano  ;  but  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  poem,  and  particularly  in  the  portion  added  in  the 
editions  of  1742  and  1743,  the  poet  has  given  a  sketeh  of 
the  gn  dual  decline  and  corruption  of  taste  and  learning  in 
Europe.  The  plot  of  the  poem — the  Iliad  of  the  Dunces- 
is  not  very  ingenious.  Pope  supposes  that  the  throne  of 
Dulness  is  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Shad  well,  and  that  the 
various  aspirants  to  "  that  bad  eminence  "  engage  in  a  series 
of  trials,  like  the  Olympic  Games  of  old,  to  determine  who 
shall  inherit  it.  In  the  original  form  of  the  poem,  as  it 
appeared   in   1728   and    17^9,  the  palm   of   pedantry   and 


POPR..  221 

stupidity  was  given  to  Theobald,  Pope's  successful  rival  in 
editing  Shakespeare.  In  the  new  edition  of  1743,  published 
just  before  the  poet's  death,  Theobald  was  degraded  from 
the  throne,  and  the  crown  was  given  to  the  Poet  Laureate, 
Colley  Cibber,  an  actor,  manager,  and  dramatic  author  of 
the  time,  who,  whatever  were  his  vices,  certainly  was  in  no 
sense  an  appropriate  King  of  the  Dunces.  In  this,  as  in 
many  other  instances,  Pope's  bitterness  of  enmity  ran  away 
with  his  judgment.  The  poem  is  an  admirable — almost  a 
fearful — example  of  genius  applied  to  selfish  ends. 

In  the  four  years  extending  from  1731  to  1735J  Pope  was 
engaged  in  the  composition  of  his  Epistles,  addressed  to 
Burlington,  Cobham,  Arbuthnot,  Bathurst,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished men.  These  poems,  half  satirical  and  half 
familiar,  were  in  their  manner  a  reproduction  of  the  charm- 
ing epistles  of  Horace. 

The  Essay  on  Man,  written  in  this  period  of  his  literary 
work,  was  published  in  four  epistles  addressed  to  Boling- 
broke.  The  arguments  of  the  poem  are  not  convincing, 
nor  are  the  conclusions  just.  It  furnishes  an  illustration 
of  the  incompatibility  between  poetry  and  abstract  reason- 
ing; for  close  reasoning  is  generally  found  to  injure  the 
effect  of  verse,  and  the  ornament  of  verse  as  generally 
detracts  from  the  vigor  of  argument.  The  first  epistle  treats 
of  man  in  his  relation  to  the  universe,  the  second  in  his 
relation  to  himself,  the  third  in  his  relation  to  society,  and 
the  fourth  deals  with  his  ideas  of  happiness.  Through- 
out the  poem  the  neatness  and  conciseness  of  the  language, 
the  melody  of  the  verse,  and  the  beauty  and  fidelity  of  the 
illustrations  prove  that  if  the  poet  has  not  produced  a  per- 
fect, model  of  didactic  poetry,  it  is  simply  for  the  reason  that 
such  an  object  is  beyond  the  attainment  of  man  (171). 

Imitations  of  Horace,  in  which  he  adapted  the  topics  of 
the  Roman  satirist  to  the  persons  and  vices  of  his  own  day, 
were  Pope's  latest  works. 


222  pope. 

On  the  30th  of  May,  1744,  this  poet  died.  The  last  years 
of  his  life  were  very  gloomy,  for  his  health  was  feeble,  and 
he  was  without  the  genial  companionships  in  which  he  had 
found  delight.  Swift  was  sunk  in  idiocy.  Atterbury  and 
Gay  were  dead,  and  his  mother  too  was  gone. 

Pope's  Quarrel  with  Addison.  Pope's  quarrel  with  Addi- 
son has  been  explained  in  various  ways,  but  a  knowledge  of 
their  characters  and  a  plain  statement  of  a  few  facts  are 
enough  to  show  how  impossible  it  was  that  the  man  of  grand 
self-respect  and  the  man  of  intense  self-esteem  should  retain 
each  other's  confidence.  When  the  young  poet  began  his 
literary  career,  he  paid  deference  to  the  name  of  the  great 
Oxford  scholar,  sought  his  friendship,  and  won  his  favor. 
Whether  Addison  was  jealous  of  Pope's  increasing  fame  may 
be  questioned,  but  it  is  certain  that  Pope  was  resentful  to- 
wards Addison  for  his  too  frank  criticisms  of  the  Essay  on 
Criticism  and  The  Rape  of  the  Lock.  Their  open  unfriend- 
liness was  probably  caused  by  Pope's  spiteful  assault  on  old 
John  Dennis  for  his  *  Kemarks  on  the  Tragedy  of  Cato." 
Addison  was  suspected  of  making  this  assault,  and  in 
relieving  himself  of  the  suspicion,  he  quietly  said  that,  had 
he  answered  the  remarks,  he  would  have  done  it  as  a  gentle- 
man should.  Pope  never  forgave  this  rebuke.  It  was  too 
severe  to  be  forgotten.  The  attempts  of  friends,  and  even 
their  own  interchange  of  literary  compliments,  did  not 
restore  friendly  relations.  It  was  a  most  dignified  quarrel 
on  the  part  of  Pope,  when  compared  with  the  bitterness 
of  his  quarrels  with  others.  The  victims  of  \  he  Dunciad, 
and  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu,  knew  the  cruelty  of 
"The  Wicked  Wasp  of  Twickenham."  Pope  was  a  Rtrange 
mixture  of  selfishness  and  generosity,  malignity  and  toler- 
ance; he  was  fond  of  indirect  and  cunning  courses  :  and  his 
literary  ambition  showed  itself  sometimes  in  meannesses 
and  jealousies. 


pope.  223 

Two  Classes  of  Poets.  Concerning  his  merits  as  a  poet, 
the  critics  have  had  many  and  spirited  encounters.  They 
began  to  quarrel  in  Pope's  day,  and  though  they  are  not 
now  as  excited  as  they  were  then,  they  are  quite  as  arrogant. 
This  irrepressible  conflict  of  opinion  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
there  are  two  divisions  of  poetry,  and  two  races  of  poets. 
There  is  the  poetry  that  is  natural,  and  the  poetry  that  is 
artificial;  the  poetry  that  is  spontaneous,  bursting  into 
blaze,  giving  fire  and  energy  to  the  language  which  ex- 
presses the  intense  feeling  of  the  poet,  and  the  verse  in 
which  the  emotions  flicker  and  must  be  patiently  fanned 
into  flame.  There  is  poetry  having  the  power  and  dignity 
of  passion,  and  poetry  having  the  power  and  dignity  of 
elegance.  There  are  among  the  poets  those  who  please  by 
accuracy  of  details  and  those  who  charm  by  the  massive 
grandeur  of  their  thoughts. 

What  end  does  poetry  serve?  Jeffrey,  the  keenest  of 
critics,  Wordsworth  and  Coleridge,  patient  thinkers  in  the 
philosophy  of  poetry,  teach  that  the  end  of  poetry  is  to 
give  pleasure,  Their  definitions  turn  against  them  when 
they  propose  to  strike  Pope's  name  from  the  list  of  poets. 
If  there  be  two  general  divisions  of  taste  among  people  of 
literary  culture,  there  must  be  two  general  classes  of  poets. 
The  array  of  critics  who  have  praised  Pope's  verse,  proves 
that  no  mean  place  can  be  assigned  him  among  our  poets. 
He  must  be  ranked  first  among  those  whose  power  of  pleas- 
ing is  found  in  their  conformity  to  the  laws  of  rhythm,  in 
the  studied  music  of  their  song.  He  must  not  be  named 
with  Chaucer,  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  for  he  has  not 
sublime  thoughts,  he  has  not  broad  and  profound  sympa- 
thies. Nature  does  not  inspire  him.  Art  in  life  and  in 
literature  commanded  his  highest  esteem,  and,  therefore,  he 
struck  the  chords  that  would  please  the  elegant  rather  than 
the  earnest.     "  He  was  the  poet-laureate  of  polite  life." 

Pope's  influence  upon  the  poetry  of  his  own  and  the  sue- 


224  JOHK     GAY. 

ceeding  generatioa  was  pernicious.  A  throng  of  writers, 
in  striving  to  imitate  him,  produced  verse  so  thoroughly  arti- 
ficial that  it  was  soulless  and  contemptible.  The  only  thing 
about  it  to  remind  one  of  poetry  was  its  form.  They  were 
satisfied  with  rhythm.  They  did  not  try  to  express  thought. 
They  forgot  the  spirit  of  poetry  in  their  devotion  to  its 
mechanical  properties.* 

John  Gay  (1688-1732)  was  one  of  those  easy,  amiable,  good- 
natured  men  whose  talents  excite  admiration  without  jealousy, 
while  their  characters  are  the  object  of  fondness  rather  than  respect 
Pope  describes  him  as 

"  Of  manners  gentle,  of  affections  mild, 
In  wit  a  man,  simplicity  a  child." 

He  was  apprenticed  to  a  tradesman,  but  believing  that  he  had 
poetical  talent,  he  exchanged  his  calling  for  a  thriftless  literary 
career.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  secure  the  patronage  of  the 
Duchess  of  Monmouth,  and  in  her  household  he  lived,  "  lapped  in 
cotton,  and  had  his  plate  of  chicken,  and  his*saucer  of  cream,  and 
frisked,  and  barked,  and  wheezed,  and  grew  fat,  and  so  ended."  f 
The  Shepherds  Week,  in  Six  Pastoral*,  written  to  ridicule  the  pas- 
torals of  Ambrose  Phillips,  was  full  of  humor  and  of  rural  descrip- 
tion. His  next  publication,  Trivia,  or  the  Art  of  Walking  in  the 
Streets  of  London,  is  interesting  not  only  for  its  easy  humor,  but  also 
for  the  curious  details  it  gives  of  the  scenery,  costume  and  manners 
of  the  street  at  that  time.  Keen  political  allusions  contributed 
to  the  popularity  of  Gay's  dramatic  pieces.  His  most  successful 
venture  in  that  line  was  The  Beggars'1  Opera,  the  pioneer  of  English 
operatic  works.  His  Fables  (178),  written  in  easy  verse  and 
abounding  in  good  humor,  still  retain  favor  in  collections  of  poetry 
for  the  young.  His  songs  and  ballads  are  musical,  touching,  and 
playful. 

*  The  student  is  referred  to  the  following  interesting  discussions  of  Pope  and  hi* 
poetry. 

yotuwon'f  T/ircs  of  thn  Poets.—  DeQuincey's   Biographical  Essays,     K.-od's  Lec- 
tures on  the   British  Poets.  Loci.  IX. -Thackeray's  English  Humorists,—  Tmtoe'i 
En  glish  Literature— llazhtVa  Lectures  on  the  English  Posts,— Elwin's  Life  of  Pope,  - 
Lowell1!  .Vy  study  Window. 
t  Thackeray. 


PRIOR,     YOUNG.  225 

Matthew  Prior  (1664-1721)  was  a  poet  and  diplomatist  who 
played  a  prominent  part  on  the  stage  of  politics  as  well  as  on  that 
of  literature  (177)-  He  took  part  with  Charles  Montagu  in  the 
composition  of  the  Country  Mouse  and  City  Mouse ;  a  poem  intended 
to  ridicule  Dryden's  Hind  and  Panther ;  and  as  the  sentiments  of 
the  satire  were  approved  by  the  government,  the  door  of  public 
employment  was  soon  opened  to  him.  Though  he  had  entered  pub- 
lic life  as  a  partisan  of  the  Whigs,  he  deserted  them  for  the  Tories, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  impeachment  of  Lord  Somers.  In  1715  he 
was  ordered  into  custody  by  the  Whigs,  on  a  charge  of  high  trea 
son,  and  remained  two  years  in  confinement.  But  for  his  college 
fellowship,  which  he  prudently  retained  throughout  the  period  of 
his  prosperity,  he  would  have  been  reduced  to  poverty.  His 
longer  and  more  ambitious  poems  are  Alma,  a  metaphysical  dis- 
cussion carried  on  in  Hudibrastic  verse,  exhibiting  a  good  deal  of 
thought  and  learning  disguised  under  an  easy  conversational  garb, 
and  the  religious  epic  entitled  Solomon,  a  poem  somewhat  in  the 
same  manner,  and  with  the  same  defects,  as  the  Davideis  of  Cowley. 
The  ballad  Henry  and  Emma,  he  founded  on  the  ballad  of  The 
Nuibrowne  Maid,  but  his  work  has  not  the  charming  simplicity  of 
the  old  poem.  His  claim  to  poetic  fame  rests  mainly  upon  his 
easy,  animated  love -songs. 

Edward  Young  (1681-1765)  began  his  career  by  the  unsuccess- 
ful pursuit  of  fortune  in  the  public  service.  He  obtained  his  first 
literary  reputation  by  a  satire  entitled  the  Love  of  Fame,  the  Universal 
Passion.  When  nearly  fifty  years  of  age,  he  abandoned  his  hopes 
of  political  preferment,  and,  entering  the  service  of  the  church,  was 
made  chaplain  to  George  II. 

His  place  in  the  history  of  English  literature  is  due  to  his  poem 
The  Night  Thoughts  (180).  This  work,  consisting  of  nine  nights 
of  meditations,  is  in  blank  verse,  and  is  made  up  of  reflections  on 
Life,  Death,  Immortality,  -  the  most  solemn  subjects  that  can 
engage  the  attention  of  the  Christian  and  the  philosopher.  The 
general  tone  of  the  work  is  sombre  and  gloomy,  perhaps  in  some 
degree  affectedly  so.  There  are  other  faults.  No  connection  exists 
among  the  nine  parts ;  the  expression  is  unnatural ;  there  is  lack 
of  simplicity.  "  Short,  vivid,  and  broken  gleams  of  genius  "  are 
frequently  seen.     The   march  of  his  verse  is  generally  majestic, 


226  ALLAK     RAMSAY. 

though  it  has  little  of  the  melody  of  Milton.  The  epigrammatic 
nature  of  some  of  his  most  striking  images  is  attested  by  the  large 
number  of  expressions  which  have  passed  from  his  writings  into 
the  colloquial  language  of  society ;  such  as  "  procrastination  is 
the  thief  of  time,"  "  all  men  think  all  men  mortal  but  them- 
selves." 

The  poetry  of  the  Scottish  Lowlands  found  an  admirable 
representative  at  this  time  in  Allan  Ramsay  (1686-1758),  who 
was  born  in  humble  life,  was  first  a  wigmaker,  and  afterwards  a 
bookseller  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  of  a  happy,  jovial,  and  con- 
tented humor,  and  rendered  great  services  to  the  literature  of  his 
country  by  reviving  the  taste  for  the  old  Scottish  poets,  and  by 
editing  and  imitating  the  songs  and  ballads  current  among  the 
people.  He  was  also  the  author  of  an  original  pastoral  poem,  The 
Gentle  ShepJierd,  which  grew  out  of  two  eclogues  he  had  written, 
descriptive  of  the  rural  life  and  scenery  of  Scotland.  The  com- 
plete work  consists  of  a  series  of  dialogues  in  verse,  written  in  the 
melodious  and  picturesque  dialect  of  the  country,  and  woven  into  a 
simple  but  interesting  love-story. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  :— 

The  Artificial  Poets  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

1.  Alexander  Pope,  —  a.    The    Influence   of     His 

Friends,— h.  Great  Influence  of  His  Age,-~ 
c.  The  Essay  on  Criticism,— d.  The  Rape  of 
the  Lock, — e.  His  Eclogues, — f.  His  Transla- 
tion of  Homer,— g.  The  Duuci<ttl,—h.  The 
Essay  on  Man,—i.  His  Quarrel  with  Addison. 

2,  Two  Classes  of  Poets, 

3.  John  day. 

4.  Matthew  Prior, 

5,  Edward   Young. 

6,  Allan  Ramsay, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PROSE   WRITERS    OF    THE    FIRST    HALF  OF   THE    EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

JOSEPH  ADDISON. 

u  Give  days  and  nights,  sir,  to  the  study  of  Addison,  if  you  mean  to  be  a  good 
writer,  or,  what  is  more  worth,  an  honest  man.'" — Samuel  Johnson. 

"Addison  was  the  best  company  in  the  world."— Lady  Mary  Montagu. 

14  He  was  not  free  with  his  superiors.  He  was  rather  mute  in  his  society  on  some 
occasions  ;  but  when  he  began  to  be  company  he  was  full  of  vivacity,  and  went  on 
in  a  noble  stream  of  thought  and  language,  so  as  to  chain  the  attention  of  every  one 
to  him.'1— Edward  Young. 

"  The  great  satirist  who  alone  knew  how  to  use  ridicule  without  abusing  it 
who  without  inflicting  a  wound  effected  a  great  social  reform,  and  who  reconciled 
wit  and  virtue  after  a  long  and  disastrous  separation,  during  which  wit  had  beei 
led  astray  by  profligacy,  and  virtue  by  fanaticism."— T.  B.  Macaulay. 

THE  writers  of  prose  who  were  contemporaneous  with 
Pope,  developed  a  new  form  of  English  literature, 
which  has  exerted  a  powerful  and  beneficial  influence  on 
the  manners  and  culture  of  English  readers.  In  the  form 
of  a  periodical,  a  scanty  supply  of  news  was  published,  to- 
gether with  a  short,  lively  essay  on  some  moral  or  critical 
theme.  The  aim  of  the  dissertations  was  to  inculcate  prin- 
ciples of  virtue,  good  taste  and  politeness. 

The  most  illustrious  writer  in  this  department  of  lit- 
erature was  Joseph  Addison  (1672-1719).  He  was  the  son 
of  Lancelot  Addison,  a  clergyman  of  some  reputation  for 
learning.  In  his  early  years  he  was  sent  to  the  Charter- 
house, a  famous  school  in  London,  and  there  began  his 
friendship  for  "  Dick  "  Steele.  At  fifteen  years  of  age  he 
entered  Queen's   College,   and  two  years  later  secured   a 


228  ADDISON. 

scholarship  at  Magdalen  College,  where  he  distinguished 
himself  by  the  style  of  his  scholarship,  and  by  his  taste  in 
Latin  poetry. 

His  Early  Writings.  His  first  attempt  in  English  verse 
(1G93)  was  an  Address  to  Dryden,  by  which  the  old  poet's 
friendship  was  won.  A  eulogistic  poem  on  William  III. 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Court,  and  gained  for  the 
young  author  a  pension  of  three  hundred  pounds.  He  at 
once  began  to  travel  in  France  and  Italy,  that  he  might 
cultivate  his  tastes;  but  he  was  soon  deprived  of  his  pension 
by  the  death  of  King  William.  He  returned  to  London, 
where  he  lived  in  poverty,  maintaining  that  dignified  pa- 
tience and  quiet  reserve  which  made  his  character  so 
estimable.  While  Addison  was  living  in  obscurity,  Marl- 
borough won  the  memorable  victory  of  Blenheim.  The 
Lord  Treasurer,  Godolphin,  eager  to  see  the  event  celebrated 
in  some  worthy  manner,  was  reminded  of  the  young  poet. 
The  courtier  sent  for  him,  found  him  in  his  uncomfortable 
lodgings,  and  applied  to  him  to  sing  the  glory  of  the  Eng- 
lish hero.  The  Campaign,  written  in  1704,  was  the  result. 
The  verses  are  stiff  and  artificial  enough  ;  but  Addison, 
abandoning  the  absurd  custom  of  former  poets,  who  paint  a 
military  hero  as  slaughtering  whole  squadrons  with  his 
single  arm,  places  the  glory  of  a  great  general  on  its  true 
basis — the  power  of  conceiving  and  executing  profound  in- 
tellectual combinations,  the  possession  of  calmness  and  im- 
perturbable foresight  in  the  hour  of  danger.  The  praises  of 
Marlborough  were  none  too  lofty  for  the  popular  demand  ; 
the  town  went  wild  over  one  passage,  in  which  the  hero  was 
compared  to  an  angel  guiding  a  whirlwind.* 

*  "  So  when  an  angel  by  divine  command, 
Willi  rising  tempests  shakes  a  guilty  land 
(Such  as  of  late  o'er  pale  Hritannia  passed). 
Calm  and  serene  he  drives  the  furious  hln^t  j 
And,  pleaded  the  Almighty's  orders  to  perform, 
Rides  on  the  whirlwind  and  directs  the  Htorm." 


ADDISOK     AND     STEELE.  229 

From  the  writing  of  that  successful  poem,  the  career  oi 
Addison  was  brilliant  and  prosperous.  He  was  appointed 
Under-Secretary  of  State,  and  afterwards  Chief  Secretary 
for  Ireland.  Besides  these  high  posts  he  held  other  lucra- 
tive and  honorable  offices.  The  Campaign  was  followed  by 
his  Travels  in  Italy,  exhibiting  proofs  not  only  of  his 
scholarship,  but  also  of  his  delicate  humor,  and  his  deep 
religious  spirit.  In  1707  he  published  his  pleasing  and 
graceful  opera  of  Rosamond;  and  about  this  time  he 
sketched  the  comedy  of  The  Drummer. 

Although  Addison  entered  upon  his  literary  career  as  a 
poet,  he  won  his  highest  fame  by  writing  prose  for  the 
earliest  English  periodicals. 

A  short  account  of  Steele  and  of  the  early  periodical 
literature  may  be  appropriately  given  at  this  point.  Sir 
Richard  Steele  (186)  (1672  ?-1729)  was  of  Irish  parentage. 
He  had  been  the  schoolfellow  of  Addison,  upon  whom,  both 
at  the  Charter-house  and  afterwards  during  a  short  stay  at 
Oxford,  he  seems  to  have  looked  with  veneration  and  love. 
His  life  was  full  of  the  wildest  vicissitudes,  and  his  char- 
acter was  one  of  those  which  it  is  equally  impossible  to  hate 
or  to  respect.  His  heart  was  tender,  his  benevolence  deep, 
his  aspirations  lofty ;  but  his  passions  were  strong,  and  his 
life  was  passed  in  getting  into  scrapes  and  in  making  projects 
of  reformation.  He  lacked  prudence  and  self-control.  Fond 
of  pleasure,  and  always  ready  to  sacrifice  his  welfare  for  the 
whim  of  the  moment,  he  caused  himself  to  be  disinherited 
by  enlisting  as  a  private  in  the  Horse-Guards ;  and  when 
afterwards  promoted  to  a  commission,  he  astonished  the 
town  by  his  wild  extravagance,  in  the  midst  of  which  he 
wrote  a  moral  and  religious  treatise  entitled  The  Christian 
Hero,  breathing  the  loftiest  sentiments  of  piety  and  virtue. 
He  was  a  man  of  ready  talents  ;  and  being  an  ardent  parti- 
san pamphleteer,  was  rewarded  by  Government  with  the 


230  ADDISON     AND     STEELE. 

place  of  Gazetteer.  This  position  gave  him  a  monopoly  of 
official  news  at  a  time  when  newspapers  were  still  in  their 
infancy. 

The  Tatler.  Steele  determined  to  profit  by  the  facilities 
afforded  him,  and  to  found  a  new  species  of  periodical  which 
should  contain  "the  news  of  the  day  and  a  series  of  light  and 
agreeable  essays  upon  topics  of  universal  interest,  likely  to 
improve  the  taste,  the  manners,  and  morals  of  society.  It 
should  be  remarked  that  this  was  a  period  when  literary 
taste  was  at  its  lowest  ebb  among  the  middle  and  fashionable 
classes  of  England.  The  amusements,  when  not  merely 
frivolous,  were  either  immoral  or  brutal.  Gambling,  even 
among  women,  was  prevalent.  The  sports  of  the  men  were 
marked  with  cruelty  and  drunkenness.  In  such  a  state  of 
things,  intellectual  pleasures  and  acquirements  were  re- 
garded either  with  wonder  or  with  contempt.  The  fops  and 
fine  ladies  actually  prided  themselves  on  their  ignorance  of 
spelling,  and  any  allusion  to  books  was  scouted  as  pedantry. 
Such  was  the  disease  which  Steele  desired  to  cure.  He 
determined  to  treat  it,  not  with  formal  doses  of  moral  decla- 
mation, but  with  homoeopathic  quantities  of  good  sense, 
good  taste,  and  pleasing  morality,  disguised  under  an  easy 
and  fashionable  style.  The  Tatler  was  a  small  sheet  appear- 
ing three  times  a  week,  at  the  cost  of  Id.,  each  number 
containing  a  short  essay,  generally  extending  to  about  two 
octavo  pages,  and  the  rest  filled  up  with  news  and  advertise- 
ments. The  popularity  of  the  new  journal  was  great;  no 
tea-table,  no  coffee-house — in  that  age  of  coffee-houses — 
was  without  it ;  and  the  authors,  writing  with  ease,  pleas- 
antry, and  knowledge  of  life,— writing  as  men  of  the  world, 
and  as  men  about  town,  cather  than  as  literary  recluses, 
soon  gained  the  attention  of  the  people  whom  they  ad- 
dressed. The  Tatler  was  published  for  nearly  two  years,— 
from  April  12th,  1709,  till  January  2d,  1711.    By  that  tiinu 


ADDISON     AND     STEELE.  231 

Steele  had   lost  his  position  as  Gazetteer.     His  success  in 
writing  under  the  nom  de  plume  of  Isaac   Bickerstaffe, 

prompted  him   to  continue  his  addresses  to  the 
1711.]     public.     He  soon  established  the  famous  Spectator. 

This  was  like  the  Tatler,  with  the  difference  that; 
it  appeared  six  times  a  week.  After  reaching  five  hundred 
and  fifty-five  numbers,  it  was  discontinued  for  about  eighteen 
months,  resuming  its  work  in  1714.  The  Guardian,  in- 
ferior to  either  of  the  other  periodicals,  though  having 
Addison  and  Steele  for  contributors,  was  begun  in  1713, 
and  continued  for  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  numbers. 
Steele,  though  he  was  master  of  a  ready  and  pleasant  pen,  was 
compelled  to  obtain  as  much  assistance  as  he  could  from  his 
friends.  Many  writers  of  the  time,  among  them  Swift  and 
Berkeley,  furnished  hints  or  contributions. 

Addison's  Co-operation  with  Steele.  But  we  must  return 
to  Addison.  His  constant  and  powerful  aid  was  freely  given 
to  Steele.  He  entered  warmly  into  the  project,  making  the 
most  valuable  as  well  as  the  most  numerous  contributions. 
For  TJie  Tatler  (182)  he  furnished  one-sixth,  for  The  Spec- 
tator (183,  184)  more  than  one-half,  and  for  The  Guardian 
one-third  of  the  matter.  His  papers  are  signed  by  one  of 
the  four  letters,  0.  L.  I.  0.,  either  the  letters  of  the  name  of 
Clio,  or  the  initials  of  Chelsea,  London,  Islington  and  the 
Office,  the  places  where  the  essays  were  written. 

The  fertility  of  invention  displayed  in  his  charming 
papers  published  in  the  Tatler,  Spectator  and  Guardian,  the 
variety  of  their  subjects,  and  the  felicity  of  their  treatment, 
will  ever  place  them  among  the  masterpieces  of  fiction  and 
of  criticism.  Their  variety  is  wonderful.  Nothing  is  too 
high,  nothing  too  low,  to  furnish  matter  for  amusing  and 
yet  profitable  reflection.  From  the  patches  and  cherry- 
colored  ribbons  of  the  ladies  to  the  loftiest  principles  of 
morality  and  religion,  everything  is   treated  with   appro- 


$32  A  D  D  I  S  0  N  . 

priateness  and  unforced  energy.  He  was  long  held  up  as  the 
finest  model  of  elegant  yet  idiomatic  English  prose ;  and 
now  the  student  will  find  in  him  qualities  that  never  can 
become  obsolete — an  unfailing  clearness  and  limpidity  of 
expression,  and  a  singular  harmony  between  the  language 
and  the  thought* 

Addison's  Delineations  of  Character.  But  his  delineations 
of  the  characters  of  men  are  wonderfully  delicate.  That 
inimitable  personage,  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley,  is  a  perfectly 
finished  picture,  worthy  of  Cervantes  or  of  Walter  Scott. 
The  manner  in  which  the  foibles  and  the  virtues  of  the 
old  squire  are  combined  is  a  proof  that  Addison,  who  added 
most  of  the  subtile  strokes  to  the  character,  possessed  humor 
in  its  highest  and  most  delicate  perfection.  And  the  telling 
sketches  of  the  squire's  dependants,  the  chaplain,  the  butler, 
and  Will  Wimble,  the  poor  relative, — all  these  delicate  obser- 
vations of  character  must  ever  place  Addison  high  among 
the  great  painters  of  human  nature. 

His  Poetry,  though  very  popular  in  his  own  time,  has 
since  fallen  in  public  estimation  to  a  point  very  far  below 
that  occupied  by  his  prose.  His  earlier  and  more  ambi- 
tious poems,  even  including  the  once-lauded  Campaign, 
have  little  to  distinguish  them  from  the  vast  mass  of  regular, 
frigid,  irreproachable  composition  popular  in  that  time.  His 
lighter  lyrical  poetry,  such  as  the  songs  in  Rosamond,  arc 
pleasing  and  musical.  His  Hymns  breathe  a  fervent  and 
tender  spirit  of  piety,  and  are  in  their  diction  and  versifica- 
tion stamped  with  great  beauty  and  refinement.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  verses  beginning, 

"  When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God," 

and  of  his  well-known  adaptation  of  the  noble  psalm,  "  The 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God." 

*"  Whoever  wishes  to  attain  an  English  style,  familiar  hut  not  coarse,  and 
elearant  hut  not  ostentatious,  must  gin  his  dayB  and  nights  to  the  volumes  o( 
Addison." —Samuel  Johnson. 


ADDISON.  233 

The  Tragedy  of  Cato.  For  several  years  four  acts  of  an 
unfinished  drama  were  tossed  about  among  Addison's  papers. 
During  the  suspension  of  The  Spectator  he  improved  the 
opportunity  of  completing  the  work,  and  in  1713,  brought 
out  his  tragedy  of  Cato  (185).  It  is  cold,  solemn  and 
pompous,  written  with  scrupulous  regard  for  the  classical 
unities.  The  story  is  without  special  interest.  The  char- 
acters, however,  are  full  of  patriotic  and  virtuous  rhetoric. 
The  play  was  a  wonderful  success  on  the  stage.  Night  after 
night  an  applauding  audience  crowded  the  theatre,  Whig  and 
Tory  finding  delight  in  applying  the  political  sentiments  of 
the  piece  to  the  English  politics  of  their  own  day ;  but  after 
a  few  weeks  the  enthusiasm  cooled,  and  the  play  was  allowed 
to  find  its  place  in  the  library,  and  to  exchange  the  unin- 
telligent praises  of  the  throng  for  the  cool  criticism  of  the 
reader. 

Addison's  Social  and  Political  Career.  Addison  won  no 
distinction  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  or  as 
a  public  officer.  His  inveterate  timidity  prevented  him 
from  speaking  with  effect.  His  powers  of  conversation  are 
said  to  have  deserted  him  when  in  the  presence  of  more 
than  two  or  three  hearers.  The  one  blemish  in  his  life  may 
be  ascribed  to  this  diffidence,  for  in  order  to  conquer  it, 
and  to  give  flow  and  vivacity  to  his  ideas,  he  had  recourse 
to  wine.  We  must  remember,  however,  that  excessive  drink- 
ing was  the  fashion  of  that  age  in  England,  and  was  not 
regarded  as  a  vice. 

In  1716  Addison  married  the  Countess  Dowager  of  War- 
wick, to  whose  son  he  had  been  tutor.  The  union  does 
not  seem  to  have  added  to  the  happiness  of  either  the  pol- 
ished scholar  or  the  dashing  lady.  He  often  would  escape 
from  the  elegance  of  Holland  House  to  spend  his  days  and 
nights  with  old  friends  in  the  clubs  and  coffee-houses. 

The  year  after  his  marriage,  Addison  reached  the  highest 


234  ADD  IS  OK. 

point  of  his  political  career;  he  was  made  Secretary  of  State, 
and  in  this  eminent  position  exhibited  the  same  liberality, 
modesty,  and  genuine  public  spirit,  that  had  characterized 
his  whole  life.  Even  in  his  political  journals,  The  Freeholder 
and  The  Examiner,  he  never  departed  from  a  tone  of  candor, 
moderation,  and  good  breeding.  He  retained  his  secretary- 
ship but  a  short  time,  retiring  from  it  with  a  pension  of 
fifteen  hundred  pounds  a  year.  It  was  his  determination 
to  devote  the  evening  of  his  life  to  the  composition  of  an 
elaborate  work  on  the  evidences  of  the  Christian  religion  ; 
but  his  remaining  days  were  few ;  and  the  work  was  left 
incomplete.  He  died  at  the  early  age  of  forty-seven.  A 
distressing  asthma  had  afflicted  his  closing  years  and  other 
trials  had  attended  him;  but  his  serene  and  gentle  spirit  lost 
none  of  its  patience,  nor  did  his  reverential  faith  desert  him. 
Addison's  celebrated  quarrel  with  Pope  has  been  discussed. 
However  painful  it  may  be  to  find  the  highest  spirits  of  the 
age  embittered  against  each  other,  we  can  hardly  regret  that 
quarrel ;  for  we  owe  to  it  one  of  the  finest  passages  in  Pope's 
works,  the  unequaled  lines  drawing  the  character  of  Atticus, 
which  was  unquestionably  meant  for  Addison.  Of  all  the 
accusa/tions  so  brilliantly  launched  against  him,  Addison 
should  plead  guilty  to  none  save  the  very  venial  one  of 
loving  to  surround  himself  with  an  obsequious  circle  of  lit- 
erary admirers.  The  blacker  portions  of  the  portrait  are 
traceable  to  the  pure  malignity  of  the  satirist. 

Thackeray's  Estimate.  u  Addison  wrote  his  papers  as 
gayly  as  if  he  were  going  out  for  a  holiday.  When  Steele's 
Taller  first  began  its  prattle,  Addison,  then  in  Ireland, 
caught  at  his  friend's  notion,  poured  in  paper  after  paper, 
and  contributed  the  stores  of  his  mind,  the  sweet  fruits  of 
his  reading,  the  delightful  gleanings  of  his  daily  observation, 

with  a  wonderful  profusion He  was  six  and 

thirty  years  old;  full  and  ripe.     He  had  not  worked  crop 


ADDISON.  235 

after  crop  from  his  brain,  cutting  and  sowing  and  cutting 
again,  like  other  luckless  cultivators  of  letters.  He  had  not 
done  much  as  yet ;  a  few  Latin  poems — graceful  prolusions ; 
a  polite  book  of  travels ;  a  dissertation  on  medals,  not.  very 
deep ;  four  acts  of  a  tragedy,  a  great  classical  exercise ;  and 
The  Campaign,  a  large  prize  poem  that  won  an  enormous 
prize.  But  with  his  friend's  discovery  of  the  Tatler,  Addi- 
son's calling  was  found,  and  the  most  delightful  talker  in 

the  world  began  to  speak Addison  was  one  of 

the  most  resolute  clubmen  of  his  day.  He  passed  many 
hours  daily  in  those  haunts.  Besides  drinking,  he  indulged 
in  that  odious  practice  of  smoking.  Poor  fellow ;  he  was  a 
man's  man,  remember.  The  only  woman  he  did  know  he 
did  not  write  about.  I  take  it  there  would  not  have  been 
much  humor  in  that  story." 

"  When  this  man  looks  from  the  world  whose  weaknesses 
he  describes  so  benevolently,  up  to  the  Heaven  which  shines 
over  us  all,  I  can  hardly  fancy  a  human  face  lighted  up  with 
a  more  serene  rapture;  a  human  intellect  thrilling  with  a 
purer  love  and  adoration  than  Joseph  Addison's.  Listen  to 
him:  from  your  childhood  you  have  known  the  verses;  but 
who  can  hear  their  sacred  music  without  love  and  awe  ? — 

"  '  Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail. 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale, 
And  nightly  to  the  listening  earth 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth ; 
And  all  the  stars  that  round  her  burn, 
And  all  the  planets  in  their  turn, 
Confirm  the  tidings  as  they  roll, 
And  spread  the  truth  from  pole  to  pole. 
What  though  in  solemn  silence  all 
Move  round  this  dark  terrestrial  hall ; 
What  though  no  real  voice  nor  sound, 
Among  their  radiant  orbs  be  found  ; 
In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice 
Forever  singing  as  they  shine, 
The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine,'" 

"It  seems  to  me  those  verses  shine  like  the  stars.    They 


236  swift. 

shine  out  of  a  great,  deep  calm.  When  lie  turns  to  Heaven, 
a  Sabbuth  comes  over  that  man's  mind;  and  his  face  lights 
up  from  it  with  a  glory  of  thanks  and  prayer.  His  senat 
of  religion  stirs  through  his  whole  beiug."  * 


JONATHAN    SWIFT. 

M  The  most  unhappy  man  on  earth.1'—  Bishop  King. 

"The  most  agreeable  companion,  the  truest  friend,  and  the  greatest  genius  of 
his  age."— Joseph  Addison. 

M  He  moves  laughter  but  never  joins  in  it.  He  appears  in  his  works  such  as  he 
appears  in  society.  All  the  company  are  convulsed  with  merriment,  while  the  Dean, 
the  author  of  all  the  mirth,  preserves  an  invincible  gravity  and  even  sourness  of 
aspect,  and  gives  utterance  to  the  most  eccentric  and  ludicrous  fancies,  with  the  air 
of  a  man  reading  the  commination  service."—  T.  B.  Macaulay. 

41  Swift  was  in  person  tall,  strong  and  well  made,  of  a  dark  complexion,  but 
with  blue  eyes,  black  and  bushy  eyebrows,  nose  somewhat  aquiline,  and  features 
which  well  expressed  the  stern,  haughty,  and  dauntless  turn  of  his  mind.  He  was 
never  known  to  laugh,  and  his  smiles  are  happily  characterized  by  the  well  known 
lines  of  Shakespeare,— indeed,  the  whole  description  of  Cassius  might  be  applied 
to  Swift  :- 

4  He  reads  much : 
He  is  a  great  observer,  and  he  looks 
Quite  through  the  deeds  of  men  :    .    .    .    . 
Seldom  he  smiles,  and  smiles  in  such  a  sort 
As  if  lie  mocked  himself,  and  scorned  his  spirit 
That  could  be  mov'd  to  smile  at  anything.'  " 

— Walter  Scott, 
44 In  humor  and  in  irony,  and  in  the  talent  of  debasing  and  defiling  what  he 
hated,  we  join  with  the  world  in  thinking  the  Dean  of  St.  Patrick  without  a  rival." 
—Francis  Jeffrey. 

44  Dean  Swift  may  be  placed  at  the  head  of  those  that  have  employed  a  plain 
style.  Few  writers  have  discovered  more  capacity.  He  treats  every  subject  which 
lie  handles,  whet  her  serious  or  ludicrous,  in  a  masterly  manner.  He  knew,  almost 
beyond  any  man,  the  purity,  the  extent,  the  precision  of  the  English  language,"— 
Hugh  Blair. 

Jonathan  Swift  (16G7-1745),  a  most  original  nonius,  holds 
an  eminent  place  in  the  literary  and  political  history  of  his 
time.     He  was  born  in  Dublin  ;  but  his  parents  were  Eng- 

*  Thackeray. 
FpT  further  readings  on  Addison,  the  student  is  referred  to  Johnson's  Lives  rj 
the  AmA,  Macaulay's  JTway,  Thackeray's  English  flkmarfcfe 


SWIFT.  237 

lish.  His  father  died  in  poverty  before  Swift  was  born,  and 
so  the  child  became  dependent  upon  the  charity  of  relatives. 
His  uncle  sent  him  to  school  at  Kilkenny,  and  then  to 
Trinity  College,  Dublin.  There  Swift  busied  himself  with 
irregular  and  desultory  study,  and  at  last  received  his  degree 
with  the  unfavorable  notice  that  it  was  conferred  il  speciali 
gratia,"  indicating  that  his  conduct  had  not  satisfied  the 
academical  authorities.  In  1688  he  entered  the  household 
of  Sir  William  Temple,  a  distant  connection  of  his  family, 
in  whose  service  he  remained  as  secretary  for  six  years.  His 
social  position,  midway  between  that  of  a  member  of  the 
family  and  a  servant,  was  galling  to  his  proud  spirit.  His 
residence  at  Moor  Park  continued  down  to  Temple's  death 
in  1699,  with,  however,  one  interruption  in  1694,  caused  by 
a  quarrel  with  his  patron,  whose  supercilious  condescension 
Swift's  haughty  spirit  could  not  brook.  During  his  resi- 
dence with  Sir  William,  Swift  was  an  industrious  student. 
Steady  and  extensive  reading  corrected  the  defects  of  his 
earlier  education.  On  Temple's  death  he  became  the  lit- 
erary executor  of  his  patron,  and  prepared  numerous  works 
for  the  press.  These  he  presented  to  William  III.  with  a 
preface  and  dedication  written  by  himself. 

Failing  to  obtain  any  preferment  from  that  sovereign, 
Swift  went  to  Ireland  in  1699  as  chaplain  to  Earl  Berkeley, 
the  Viceroy.  He  made  yearly  visits  to  England,  where  he 
became  the  familiar  companion  of  Halifax,  Godolphin, 
Somers,  and  Addison,  the  most  illustrious  men  of  the  time. 
His  connection  with  William  III.  and  Temple,  as  well  as  the 
predominance  of  Whig  policy,  naturally  caused  Swift  to 
enter  public  life  under  the  Whig  banner.  It  was  in  the 
interests  of  this  party  that  he  wrote  his  first  work,  the 
Dissensions  in  Athens  and  Rome,  a  political  pamphlet  in 
favor  of  the  Whig  ministers  who  were  impeached  in  1701. 

The  Tale  of  a  Tub,  his  first  important  work,  waa  pub- 


238  swift. 

lished  in  1704.  It  is  a  savage  and  yet  exquisitely  numerous 
pasquinade,  ridiculing  the  Roman  Catholics  and  Presby- 
terians, and  exalting  the  High  Anglican  party,  the  three 
churches  being  impersonated  in  the  ludicrous  and  not  very 
decorous  adventures  of  his  three  heroes,  Peter,  Jack,  and 
Martin.  The  Tale  is  that  three  brothers,  Peter  (the  Eoman 
Catholic  Church),  Martin  (the  Lutherans),  and  Jack  (the 
Calvinists)  received  coats  from  their  dying  father.  The 
coats  were  to  last  them  as  long  as  they  lived,  provided  they 
kept  them  clean.  But  as  fashions  changed  the  coats  changed 
with  them.  Embroidery,  fringes  and  tinsel  conceal  the 
simple  garments  bequeathed  by  the  father.  Peter  hides  the 
will  and  assumes  lordly  dignities.  Martin  and  Jack  steal 
copies  of  the  will,  and  leave  Peter's  house.  Martin  tries  to 
remove  some  of  the  trappings  from  his  coat  and  to  leave 
some;  but  Jack,  in  his  earnestness,  rips  off  all  the  emtjroid- 
ery  and  tears  away  much  of  the  coat. 

Hallam  regards  this  as  Swift's  masterpiece.  It  was  pub- 
lished anonymously ;  and  that  is  not  strange,  for  the  book 
contains  passages  to  which  no  clergyman  could  becomingly 
put  his  name. 

The  Battle  of  the  Books,  though  first  published  in  1704, 
appears  to  have  been  written  as  early  as  1697,  to  support  his 
patron.  Sir  William  Temple,  in  the  celebrated  Boyle  and 
Bentley  controversy  on  the  letters  of  Phalaris.  This  dis- 
pute arose  out  of  the  violently-contested  question  of  the 
relative  superiority  of  the  Ancients  and  Moderns,  a  question 
started  in  England  by  Sir  William  Temple  in  1692.*    Swift 

*  The  dispute  had  its  origin  in  France,  where  Fontenelle  and  Perrault  claimed 
for  (hr>  moderns  a  general  superiority  OTtr  the  writers  of  antiquity.  A  reply  to  their 
argument*  WU  published  by  Sir  William  Temple  in  MB,  la  his  Fssay  on  A ndent 
ami  Mo-i'Tit  Learninr/,  written  in  Qlnginl  li»)|1p.  but  containing  much  puerile 
matter,  and  exhibiting  great  credulity.  Not  content  with  pointing  out  the 
undoubted  merils  of  (he  :iea(  writers  of  antiquity,  he  undervalued  the  labors  and 
discoveries  of  the  moderns,  and  pteaid  over  Shakespeare,  Milton,  and  Newton 
without  even  mentioning  their  names.    Among  other  arguments  for  the  decay  of 


swift.  239 

became  a  champion  of  the  Boyle  faction,  and  in  this  work 
gave  a  foretaste  of  those  tremendous  powers  of  sarcasm 
which  made  him  the  most  formidable  pamphleteer  that  ever 
lived.  The  merits  of  the  case  he  does  not  attempt  to  touch ; 
but  with  grotesque  invention,  and  with  unscrupulous  use 
of  everything  coarse  and  ludicrous  in  language,  he  strives  to 
cover  his  opponents  with  contempt. 

Swift's  Political  Pamphlets.  In  1705  Swift  was  employed 
to  negotiate  with  the  English  government  in  reference  to  the 
claims  of  the  Irish  clergy.  He  visited  England  on  this  mis- 
sion, and  though  unsuccessful,  displayed  great  activity  and 
shrewdness.  He  had  by  this  time  maple  himself  conspicu- 
ous both  in  his  profession  and  in  politics;  he  was  known  and 
feared  as  a  powerful  and  unscrupulous  pamphleteer,  and  was 
the  familiar  associate  of  those  who  were  at  the  head  of  affairs. 
His  advocacy  of  Whig  principles,  never  very  hearty,  came  to 
an  end  in  1710.  He  had  long  regarded  Ireland  with  detes- 
tation, and  was  eager  for  a  promotion  that  would  enable 
him  to  reside  in  England,  near  the  focus  of  literary  and 
political  activity.  But  his  hopes  of  preferment  were  not 
fulfilled,  and,  when  his  patience  was  exhausted,  he  aban- 
doned his  party,  and  began  to  intrigue  and  to  satirize  on 
the  side  of  the  Tories.  In  this  same  year,  Harley  and  Pope's 
friend,  St.  John,  reached  the  head  of  affairs.  Swift  was 
received  by  them  with  open  arms.     He  was  caressed  and 

humor,  wit,  and  learning,  Temple  maintained  "  that  the  oldest  hooks  extant  were 
still  the  best  in  their  kind  ; ''  and  in  proof  of  this  assertion  cited  the  Fables  of 
yEsop  and  the  Epistles  of Phalaris.  This  led  to  a  publication  of  a  new  edition  of 
the  Epistles  of  Phalanx  by  the  scholars  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford  (1695).  The 
nominal  editor  was  Charles  Boyle,  who,  in  his  Preface,  inserted  a  litter  reflection 
upon  Richard  Bentley  (1682-1742),  the  King's  Librarian,  on  account  of  the 
refusal  of  the  latter  to  grant  the  loan  of  a  MS.  in  the  King's  Library.  Bentley  soon 
had  an  opportunity  for  retaliation.  He  proved  that  the  author  of  the  Epistles  of 
Phalaris  was  not  the  Sicilian  tyrant,  but  some  sophist  of  a  later  age.  Sir  William 
Temple  was  incensed  at  Bentley's  Dissertation ;  and  Swift,  who  then  resided  in 
Temple's  house,  made  his  first  attack  on  Bentley  in  the  Battle  of  the  Books,  in 
which  he  ridiculed  the  great  scholar  in  the  most  ludicrous  manner. 


240  SWIFT. 

flattered  by  the  great.  With  unexampled  rapidity  he  poured 
forth  squib  after  squib  and  pamphlet  after  pamphlet,  employ- 
ing all  the  stores  of  his  fancy  and  powerful  sophistry  to 
defend  his  party  and  to  blacken  and  ridicule  his  antago- 
nists. The  great  object  of  his  ambition  was  an  English 
bishopric,  and  the  ministers  would  have  been  willing  enough 
to  gratify  him ;  but  his  authorship  of  the  Tale  of  a  Tub, 
and  his  lampoon  on  the  Duchess  of  Somerset,  proved  fatal 
to  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  the 
Deanery  of  St.  Patrick's,  Dublin.  He  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  this  office  in  1713.  This  was  the  most  active 
period  of  Swift's  life.  His  Public  Spirit  of  the  Whigs,  his 
Conduct  of  the  Allies,  and  his  Reflections  on  the  Barrier 
Treaty,  the  ablest  political  pamphlets  ever  written,  not  only 
reconciled  the  nation  to  the  peace  policy  of  the  Tory  minis- 
try, but  also  kindled  a  feeling  of  enthusiasm  for  the  Tory 
statesmen  among  the  people.  Evil  days,  however,  were  at 
hand.  Harley  and  St.  John  tore  asunder  their  party  with 
their  dissensions ;  in  spite  of  all  Swift's  efforts,  the  troubles 
became  desperate ;  and  Swift  retired  to  Ireland,  where  he 
was  received  with  contempt  and  execration. 

During  his  frequent  visits  to  London,  Swift's  company 
had  been  sought  after  by  men  of  letters  as  well  as  by  states- 
men. With  Pope,  Gay  and  Arbuthnot,  he  formed  what  was 
called  the  Scriblerus  Club,  a  company  united  by  the  closest 
intimacy,  where  each  threw  the  ideas  published  in  their 
famous  Miscellanies  into  a  common  stock. 

His  Residence  in  Ireland.  For  twelve  years  Swift  re- 
mained in  Ireland.  He  was  quiet,  but  thoroughly  discon- 
tented. At  last,  in  1724,  the  opportunity  came  for  him  to 
speak  his  hatred  for  the  English  government,  and  be  spoke 
in  such  a  way  as  to  raise  himself  from  being  an  object  of 
detestation  to  a  height  of  popularity  such  as  no  other  Eng- 
lish churchman  ever  attained  in  Ireland. 


SWIFT.  241 

The  condition  of  Ireland  was  just  then  unusually  deplor- 
able; the  manufacturing  industry  and  the  commerce  of  the 
country  were  paralyzed  by  the  protective  statutes  of  the 
English  Parliament ;  the  agricultural  classes  were  reduced 
to  the  lowest  abyss  of  degradation.  Swift  boldly  proclaimed 
the  misery  of  the  country.  His  force  and  bitterness  soon 
drew  down  the  persecution  of  the  ministers.  But  the  high- 
est point  of  his  Irish  popularity  was  attained  by  the  seven 
famous  Drapier  Letters.  These  letters,  signed  M.  B.  Dra- 
pier, were  written  by  Swift  and  inserted  in  a  Dublin  news- 
paper. The  occasion  was  the  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the 
English  ministry,  to  force  the  circulation  of  a  large  sum 
of  copper  money  in  Ireland.  The  contract  for  coining  this 
money  had  been  undertaken  by  William  Wood,  a  Birming- 
ham speculator.  Swift  endeavored  to  persuade  the  people 
that  it  was  far  below  its  nominal  value ;  and  he  counselled 
all  true  patriots  not  only  to  refuse  to  take  it,  but  to  refrain 
from  using  any  English  manufactures  whatever.  The  force 
of  his  arguments,  and  the  skill  with  which  he  wore  the  mask 
of  a  plain,  honest  tradesman,  excited  the  populace  almost 
•to  frenzy.  Swift  was  known  to  be  the  real  author  of  the 
letters,  and  his  defence  of  the  rights  of  the  Irish  people 
made  him  from  that  moment  the  idol  of  that  warm-hearted 

race.  Two  years  later  he  visited  England  for  the 
1726.]     purpose  of  publishing  his  famous  Gulliver's  Travels. 

The  work  was  received  with  delight  and  admiration, 
and  was  at  once  recognized  as  his  greatest  gift  to  literature. 
But  applause  could  not  soothe  the  griefs  that  were  about  to 
befall  him.  The  death  of  Stella,  one  of  the  few  beings 
whom  he  ever  really  loved,  happened  in  1728;  and  the  loss 
of  many  friends  further  contributed  to  darken  and  intensify 
the  gloom  of  his  proud  and  sombre  spirit.  He  had  from 
an  early  period  suffered  occasionally  from  giddiness,  and 
after  Stella's  death  the  attacks  were  more  frequent  and  more 
severe.     Deafness  deprived  him  of  the  pleasure  of  conver- 


242  swift. 

sation.  Forebodings  of  insanity  tormented  him  until  they 
were  cruelly  verified*  In  1741  he  passed  into  a  state  of 
idiocy  that  lasted  without  interruption  till  his  death  in 
1745.  He  is  buried  in  his  own  cathedral  of  St.  Patrick ; 
and  over  his  grave  is  inscribed  that  terrible  epitaph  com- 
posed by  himself  in  which  he  speaks  of  resting  "  ubi  sceva 
indignatio  ulterius  cor  lacerare  nequit."  But  the  most 
impressive  monument  of  this  sad  life  is  the  hospital  foi 
idiots  and  incurable  madmen,  built  and  endowed  in  accord 
ance  with  the  directions  of  Swift's  will. 

Stella  and  Vanessa.  An  account  of  Swift's  career  would 
be  imperfect  without  some  mention  of  the  two  unhappy 
women  whose  love  for  him  was  the  glory  and  the  misery  of 
their  lives.  While  residing  in  Temple's  family,  he  became 
acquainted  with  Esther  Johnson,  a  beautiful  young  girl, 
brought  up  as  a  dependent  in  the  house,  to  whom,  while 
hardly  in  her  teens,  Swift  gave  instruction.  The  acquaint- 
ance ripened  into  the  deepest  and  tenderest  passion.  On 
his  removal  to  Ireland,  Swift  induced  Stella — such  was  the 
poetical  name  he  gave  her — to  settle  with  her  friend  Mrs. 
Dingley  in  that  country,  where  he  maintained  with  both  of 
them  that  long,  curious,  and  intimate  correspondence  which 
has  since  been  published  as  his  Journal  to  Stella.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  Swift  intended  to  marry  Stella,  and  that 
Stella's  life  was  filled  with  the  hope  that  she  should  be  his 
wife.  During  one  of  his  visits  to  London,  Swift  became 
intimate  with  the  family  of  a  rich  merchant  named  Van- 
homrigh,  whose  daughter  Hester,  to  whom  he  gave  the 
name  of  Vanessa,  he  unwittingly  inspired  with  a  deep  and 

•**I  remember  as  I  and  others  were  taking  with  Swift  an  evening  walk,  about 
a  mile  out  of  Dublin,  he  stopped  short;  we  passed  on  ;  bat  peroeiTing  be  did  not 
follow  us  I  went  back  and  found  him  fixed  as  a  statue,  and  earnestly  fttdng  up- 
ward* at  a  noble  tree,  which,  in  its  upper  branche*,wM  mucb  withered  and 
Pointing  at  it,  he  said,  'I  shall  be  like  that  tree;  I  shall  die  at  the  top.,,,— Dp 
Young. 


swift.  243 

jealous  love  for  him.  On  the  death  of  her  father,  Miss  Van- 
homrigh,  possessing  an  independent  fortune,  retired  to  a 
villa  in  Ireland.  There  Swift  continued  his  visits  without 
explaining  to  either  of  the  unhappy  ladies  the  nature  of  his 
relations  to  the  other.  At  last  Vanessa,  driven  almost  to 
madness  by  suspense  and  irritation,  wrote  to  Stella  to  in- 
quire into  the  nature  of  Swift's  relations  to  her.  Stella  gave 
the  letter  to  Swift.  In  rage  he  carried  it  to  Vanessa,  and 
without  a  word,  but  with  a  terrible  countenance,  threw  it 
do^n  before  her.  The  poor  girl  died  soon  after.  Swift  at 
this  time  was  probably  the  husband  of  Stella.  It  is  believed 
that  they  were  privately  married  in  the  garden  of  the  dean- 
ery, in  1716.  He,  however,  never  recognized  her  in  public 
as  his  wile,  nor  did  he  ever  live  in  the  same  house  with  her, 
nor  did  he  allow  her  to  meet  him  unless  a  third  person  were 
present.  In  reading  his  words  when  he  was  bereaved  by  her 
death,  one  must  see  that  his  love  for  her  was  real. 

Gulliver's  Travels.  A  few  comments  on  his  writings  must 
close  this  essay.  The  greatest  and  most  characteristic  ol 
his  prose  works  is  the  Voyages  of  Gulliver  (175),  a  vast  and 
all-embracing  satire  upon  humanity  itself.  The  general 
plan  of  this  book  is  as  follows:  a  plain,  unaffected,  honest 
ship-surgeon,  describes  the  strange  scenes  and  adventures, 
through  which  he  passes,  with  an  air  of  simple,  straightfor^ 
ward,  prosaic  good  faith,  such  as  Defoe  displays  in  RoMnson. 
Crusoe.  The  contrast  between  the  extravagance  of  the 
inventions  and  the  gravity  with  which  they  are  related, 
illustrates  the  peculiar  humor  of  Swift.  This  admirable 
fiction  consists  of  four  parts  or  voyages:  in  the  first  Gulliver 
visits  the  country  of  Lilliput,  whose  inhabitants  are  about 
six  inches  in  stature,  and  where  all  the  objects,  houses,  tree? 
ships,  and  animals,  are  in  exact  proportion  to  the  miniature 
human  beings.  The  invention  displayed  in  the  droll  and 
surprising  incidents  is  unbounded ;  the  air  with  whioh  the} 


244  swift. 

are  recounted  is  natural,  and  the  strange  scenes  and  ad- 
ventures are  recorded  with  an  appearance  of  simple, straight- 
forward honesty  altogether  inimitable. J  The  second  voyage 
is  to  Brobdingnag,  a  country  of  enormous  giants,  sixty  feet 
in  height ;  and  here  Gulliver  plays  the  same  part  that  the 
pigmy  Lilliputians  had  played  to  him.  As  in  the  first 
voyage  the  contemptible  and  ludicrous  side  of  human 
things  is  presented  by  showing  how  trifling  they  would  ap- 
pear in  almost  microscopic  proportions,  so  in  Brobdingnag 
we  are  made  to  perceive  how  petty  and  ridiculous,  our 
politics,  our  wars,  and  our  ambitions  would  appear  to  the 
perceptions  of  a  gigantic  race.  The  third  part  carries 
Gulliver  to  a  series  of  strange  and  fantastic  countries.  The 
first  is  Laputa,  a  flying  island,  inhabited  by  philosophers 
and  astronomers;  whence  he  passes  to  the  Academy  of 
Lagado;  thence  to  Glubbdubdrib  and  Luggnagg.  In  this 
part  the  author  introduces  the  terrific  description  of  the 
Struldbrugs,  wretches  who  are  cursed  with  bodily  immor- 
tality without  intellects  or  affections.  Gulliver's  last  voyage 
is  to  the  country  of  the  Houyhnhnms,  a  region  where  horses 
are  the  reasoning  beings;  and  men,  under  the  name  of  Ya- 
hoos, are  degraded  to  the  rank  of  noxious,  filthy  and  unrea- 
soning brutes.  The  satire  goes  on  deepening  as  it  advances; 
playful  in  the  scenes  of  Lilliput,  it  grows  more  and  more 
bitter  at  every  step,  till  in  the  Yahoos  it  reaches  a  pitch  of 
almost  insane  ferocity. / 

Miscellaneous  Writings.  Swift  wrote  pamphlets  of  a  partly 
religious  character,  such  as  his  Sentiments  of  a  Church  of 
England  Man,  The  Sacramental  Test,  and  others  on  local  ami 
temporary  subjects  (176).  They  all  exhibit  the  vigor  of  his 
reasoning,  the  force  of  his  stylo,  and  the  fierceness  of  his 
invective.  Neither  respect  for  his  own  dignity  nor  respect 
for  ihe  candor  of  others  ever  restrained  him  from  over- 
whelming his  opponents  with  ridicule  or  abuse.     The  pkafr 


SWIFT.  245 

an  test  and  most  innocent  of  his  writings  are  the  papers 
written  in  the  character  of  Isaac  Bickerstaft'e  (174),  where 
he  shows  up  with  exquisite  drollery,  the  quackery  of  the 
astrologer  Partridge.  His  letters  are  very  numerous;  those 
addressed  to  his  intimate  friends,  Pope  and  Gay,  and  those 
written  to  Sheridan,  half-friend  and  half-butt,  contain  choice 
specimens  of  his  peculiar  humor. 

Swift's  Literary  Style.  Swift  will  ever  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  masters  of  English  prose,  and  his  poetical  works 
will  give  him  a  place  among  the  writers  of  his  age.  Yet 
they  have  no  pretension  to  loftiness  of  language ;  they 
studiously  preserve  the  familiar  expression  of  common  life. 
In  nearly  all  of  them  he  adopted  the  short  octosyllable  verse 
that  Prior  and  Gay  had  rendered  popular.  The  poems,  like 
his  prose,  show  wonderful  acquaintance  with  ordinary  inci- 
dents, intense  observation  of  human  nature,  and  a  pro- 
foundly misanthropic  view  of  mankind.  Most  likely  to 
remain  popular  are  the  Verses  on  my  own  Death,  describ- 
ing the  mode  in  which  that  event,  and  Swift's  own  char- 
acter, would  be  discussed  among  his  friends,  his  enemies, 
and  his  acquaintances;  and  there  is  no  composition  in  the 
world  which  gives  a  more  easy  and  animated  picture,  at 
once  satirical  and  true,  of  the  language  and  sentiments  of 
ordinary  society.  But  his  fame  rests  wholly  upon  his  won- 
derful prose.  Vigor  and  perspicuity  mark  every  page.  There 
is  no  sign  of  pedantry  in  his  style  ;  every  sentence  is  homely 
and  rugged  and  strong.  "He  seems  to  have  hated  foreign 
words  as  he  hated  men."  His  vocabulary  is  thoroughly 
Saxon,  and  the  variety  of  English  idioms  used  in  expressing 
his  thought  is  greater  than  can  be  found  in  any  other  writer 
of  his  age.* 

*  For  further  readings  on  this  topic  see  The  North  American  Review,  Jan.  1868, 
—  Craik's  English  Literature,  Vol.  II.,  p.  208,  seq.,— Macaulay's  Essay  on  Si} 
William  Temple,—  Thackeray's  English  Humorists,— Jeffrey  in  the  British  Essayists 
—Scott's  Life  of  Swift,— Hazlitt's  Lectures  on  The  English  Poets,  Led.  VI. 


240  ARBUTHNOT,     BOLINGBROKE. 

Dr.  John  -IrbuthliOt  [198ft— HW)  was  greatly  esteemed  by  the 
brilliant  society  of  which  Pope  and  Swift  were  the  chief  luminaries. 
lie  was  of  Scottish  origin,  and  enjoyed  high  reputation  as  a  phy- 
sician attached  to  the  Court,  from  1709  till  the  death  of  Queen 
Anne.  He  was  one  of  the  most  learned  wits  of  the  day,  and  was 
the  chief  contributor  to  the  Miscellanies  spoken  of  in  our  discussion 
of  Pope.  He  is  supposed  to  have  conceived  the  plan  of  that  ex- 
tensive satire  on  the  abuses  of  learning,  embodied  in  the  Memoirs 
of  Martinus  ScriUerus,  and  to  have  executed  the  best  portions  of 
that  work.  But  the  fame  of  Arbuthnot  is  more  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  History  of  John  Bull,  in  which  the  intrigues  and 
Wars  of  the  Succession  are  caricatured  with  much  drollery.  The 
object  of  the  work  was  to  render  the  prosecution  of  the  war  by 
Marlborough  unpopular  with  the  nation.  The  adventures  of  Squire 
South  (Austria),  Lewis  Baboon  (France)  "Nic.  Frog  (Holland),  and 
Lord  Strutt  (the  King  of  Spain),  are  related  with  fun,  odd  humor, 
and  familiar  vulgarity  of  lauguage.  The  characters  of  the  various 
nations  and  parties  are  conceived  and  maintained  with  spirit.  The 
popular  ideal  of  John  Bull,  with  which  Englishmen  are  so  fond 
of  identifying  their  personal  and  national  peculiarities,  was  first 
stamped  and  fixed  by  Arbuthnot's  amusing  burlesque.  Arbuth- 
not is  always  good-natured.  He  shows  no  trace  of  that  fierce  mis- 
anthropy which  tinged  every  page  of  Swift.  Of  him  Swift  said, 
"Oh,  if  the  world  had  a  dozen  Arbuthnots  I  would  burn  my 
[Gulliver's]  Travels." 

Henry  St.  John,  Viscount  Bolingbroke  (1678-1751),  remarkable 
for  his  career  as  a  statesman  and  orator,  was  a  prominent  member 
of  the  brilliant  coterie  of  Pope  and  Swift.  After  a  stormy  public 
lUe,  he  amused  his  declining  years  by  the  composition  of  political, 
moral,  and  philosophical  essays.  While  an  exile  he  wrote  his 
Reflection*  on  Exile,  his  Letter  to  Sir  William  Windham  in  defence 
of  his  political  life,  his  papers  On  the  Study  of  History,  and  On  the 
True  Use  of  Retirement.  After  his  death  a  complete  edition  of  his 
works  was  published  in  five  volumes.  His  disbelief  in  the  divine 
origin  of  Christianity  is  distinctly  stated.  The  language  of  Boling- 
broke is  lofty  and  oratorical ;  but  the  thought  is  often  feeble,  and 
the  tone  of  philosophical  indifference  to  matters  in  which  other 
men  are  interested  seems  to  be  affected.     It  was  to  Bolinsrbroke 


BERKELEY,      MONTAGU.  24? 

that  Pope  addressed  The  Essay  on  Man,  and  from  him  the  poet 
derived  many  of  his  opinions  (189,  190)- 

George  Berkeley  (1684-1753)  was  full  of  projects  for  increasing 
the  virtue  and  happiness  of  his  fellow-creatures.  When  fifty  years 
of  age  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Cloyne  in  Ireland.  This  position 
he  continued  to  hold,  obstinately  refusing  any  promotion  that 
would  remove  him  from  the  people  for  whom  he  loved  to  work. 
His  writings  are  numerous,  embracing  a  wide  field  of  moral  and 
metaphysical  discussion  (191)-  He  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of  the  Ideal  theory ;  and 
therefore  appears  in  contrast  with  Locke  in  the  history  of  English 
philosophy.  Locke  traced  ideas  to  external  nature,  teaching  that 
the  phenomena  observed  are  the  measure  of  ideas.  Berkeley  taught 
that  the  ideas  themselves  are  the  only  things  man  can  pronounce 
real.  His  first  philosophical  work  was  the  New  Theory  of  Vision,  in 
which  he  announces  his  startling  doctrine  concerning  knowledge 
of  the  properties  of  bodies.  This  was  followed  by  The  Principles 
of  Human  Knowledge,  and  by  the  Three  Dialogues.  What  he  aimed 
to  do  in  his  writings,  was  to  refute  the  skepticism  found  in  other 
philosophical  works;  but  in  the  interpretation  of  much  of  his 
thought  he  is  treated  as  though  he  were  himself  a  reckless  teacher 
of  error. 

Mary  Wortley  Montagu.  Although  Pope  and  many  distin- 
guished men  of  letters  in  this  period  assiduously  cultivated 
epistolary  composition,  none  of  them  could  equal  Lady  Mary 
Wortley  Montagu  (1690-1762)  in  brilliant  letter-writing.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Kingston,  and  was  celebrated,  even 
from  her  childhood,  for  the  vivacity  of  her  intellect,  her  mental 
acquirements,  and  the  beauty  and  graces  of  her  person.  Her  edu- 
cation had  been  far  more  extensive  and  solid  than  was  then  usually 
given  to  women.  Her  acquaintance  with  history,  and  even  with 
Latin,  was  considerable,  and  her  studies  had  been  in  some  degree 
directed  by  Bishop  Burnet.  In  1712  she  married  Mr.  Edward 
Wortley  Montagu,  and  accompanied  him  on  his  embassy  to  the 
court  of  Constantinople.  She  described  her  travels  over  Europe 
and  the  East  in  those  delightful  Letters  which  have  given  her  in 
English  literature  a  place  resembling  that  of  Madame  de  Sevigne 


248        MARY  WOBTLEY  MONTAGU. 

in  the  literature  of  France  (192).  Admirable  common  sense,  obser- 
vation, vivacity,  extensive  reading  without  a  trace  of  pedantry,  and 
a  pleasant  tinge  of  half-playful  sarcasm,  are  qualities  of  her  corre- 
spondence. She  had  seen  so  much,  and  bad  been  brought  into 
contact  with  so  many  remarkable  persons,  in  a  way  that  gave 
her  such  means  of  judging  of  them,  that  she  is  always  sensible  and 
amusing.  The  successful  introduction  of  inoculation  for  the  small- 
pox is  mainly  to  be  attributed  to  her  intelligence  and  courage. 
She  not  only  had  the  daring  to  try  the  experiment  upon  her  own 
child,  but  with  admirable  constancy  she  resisted  the  furious  opposi- 
tion of  bigotry  and  ignorance  against  the  innovation.  She  was  at 
one  time  the  intimate  friend  of  Pope,  and  the  object  of  his  most 
ardent  adulation ;  but  a  violent  quarrel  occurred  between  them, 
and  the  spiteful  poet  pursued  her  for  a  time  with  an  almost  furious 
hatred.     She  is  the  Sappho  of  his  satirical  works. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

Prose  Writers  of  the  first  half  of  the    Eighteenth 
Century, 

1,  Joseph    Addison,  — Si,    His  Early    Writings,— 

b.  A  short  account  of  Sir  Hi  chard  Steele,— 

c.  The  Tatler,  —  d.  Addison's  Co-operation 
with  Steele,— e.  His  Delineations  of  Charac- 
ter,-^ His  Poetry, —g.  The  Tragedy  of  Cato,— 
h.  His  Social  and  Political  Career,— i,  Thack- 
eray's Estimate  of  Him, 

2,  Jonathan  Swift,— n.  The  Tale  of  a  Tub,—h.  Hie 

Battle  of  the  Boohs,  —  c.  His  Pamphlets,— 

d.  His  Services  to  the  Tories,— e.  His  Resi- 
dence in  Ireland,— f,  Stella  and  Vanessa— 
jr.  Gulliver's  Travels,— li.  His  Miscellaneous 

Writings,— \.  Ifis  Literary  Style, 

3,  Dr.  John  Arbuthnot. 

4,  Henry  St.  John,  J'iscount  Bolingbroke, 

5,  George  Berkeley. 

6,  Lady  Mary  Wortlcy  Montagu. 


CHAPTEH  XX. 

THE     FIRST    GREAT     NOVELISTS. 

PROSE  FICTION  was  one  of  the  latest  departments  of  literature 
cultivated  by  English  authors.  It  is  true  that  Sidney's  Arcadia 
was  a  chivalric  form  of  this  kind  of  writing,  and  Bacon's  Atlantis 
and  More's  Utopia,  written  in  Latin,  were  philosophical  romances ; 
but  the  use  of  prose  narrative  in  the  delineation  of  passions,  char- 
acters, and  incidents  of  real  life  was  first  developed  by  writers  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  among  whom  the  names  of  Defoe,  Richard- 
son, Fielding,  Smollett,  and  Sterne,  are  the  most  brilliant. 

The  literature  of  fiction  divides  itself  into  two  great  branches, 
— romances  and  novels.  In  the  romance  the  characters  and  inci- 
dents are  of  a  lofty  or  supernatural  character ;  in  the  novel  there  is 
a  recital  of  the  events  of  ordinary  life.  "  The  romance  lacks  truth, 
and  that  in  the  worst  of  all  ways,  by  insensible  departures,  by  exces- 
sive coloring,  by  glaring  and  false  lights It  is  against 

the  romance  element,  ever  likely  to  appear  in  historical  novels,  as 
it  appears  in  history  itself,  when  it  runs  like  a  child  after  the  glitter- 
ing march  and  sonorous  sounds  of  war,  that  most  of  the  moral 
objections  to  works  of  fiction  hold."*  In  the  department  of  the 
novel,  from  its  first  appearance  in  our  literature  down  to  the 
present-  time,  English  writers  have  encountered  few  rivals  and  no 
superiors. 

Daniel  Defoe  (1661-1731)  was  the  founder  of  the  English  novel. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  London  butcher  named  Foe,  and  not  liking  the 
family  name  he  attached  a  prefix  to  suit  his  taste.  He  was  an  ad- 
vanced reformer,  even  advocating,  as  early  as  1698,  the  founding 
of  insurance  companies,  savings  banks  for  the  poor,  and  colleges  for 
the  higher  education  of  women.     His  interest  in  politics  led  him  to 

*  Bascom's  Philosophy  of  English  Literature,  p.  271. 


250  DANIEL     DEFOE. 

take  up  the  pen  as  a  pamphleteer,  and  his  radical  Protestantism 
carried  him  to  such  extremes  that  he  was  frequently  subjected  to 
punishment.  In  spite  of  fines  and  imprisonment,  he  fearlessly  pub- 
lished pamphlet  after  pamphlet,  full  of  irony,  logic,  and  patriot- 
ism. In  The  True-born  Englishman,  a  poem  written  in  tuneless 
rhymes,  he  defended  William  of  Orange  and  the  Dutch  against 
the  prejudices  of  his  countrymen ;  in  The  /Shortest  Way  with  the 
Dissenters  he  gravely  proposed  as  the  easiest  and  speediest  way  of 
ridding  the  land  of  them,  to  hang  their  ministers  and  banish  the 
people ;  *  and  when  the  House  of  Commons  pronounced  the  pam- 
phlet a  libel  on  the  nation,  and  sentenced  him  to  stand  in  the 
pillory,  he  coolly  wrote  his  Ode  to  the  Pillory,  describing  it  as 

"A  hieroglyphic  state-machine 
Condemned  to  punish  fancy  in." 

During  one  of  his  imprisonments  he  commenced  The  Review,  the 
prototype  of  our  semi-political,  semi-literary  periodicals,  publish- 
ing it  three  times  a  week. 

In  1719  the  first  part  of  Rolinson  Crusoe  appeared.  Its 
1719.]  success  among  the  humble  readers  whom  Defoe  generally 
addressed  was  instantaneous.  The  simplicity  and  prob- 
ability of  the  events  narrated,  and  the  author's  skill  in  identifying 
himself  with  the  character  of  his  recluse,  gave  the  book  an  intense 
interest.  The  impression  it  leaves  on  the  memory  of  every  reader 
is  deep  and  permanent.  The  hero  is  without  pretensions  to  extra- 
ordinary knowledge,  and  is  therefore  such  a  person  as  every  one, 
ignorant  or  cultivated,  can  sympathize  with.  The  more  thoughtful 
the  reader,  the  more  does  he  appreciate  Defoe's  wonderful  art  in 
throwing  the  air  of  reality  over  every  part  of  his  fiction.f 

Among  Defoe's  other  works  of  fiction,  The  Memoirs  of  a  Cavalier 
deserves  special  mention.  The  work  professes  to  have  been  written 
by  one  who  had  taken  part  in  the  great  Civil  War;  and  so  success- 
fully was  the  pretence  carried  out,  that  it  deceived  even  the  great 

*  The  Government  advertised  a  reward  for  his  arrest,  and  gave  thi  following 
description  of  Ids  person:  "A  middle-sized,  spare  man  about,  forty  years  old,  of  ■ 
brown  complexion  and  dark  brown-coloured  hair,  bin  wears  a  wig;  a  hooked  nose, 
ft  •harp  chin,  gnj  eyes,  and  a  large  mole  near  his  mouth." 

r  "  Let  us  think  how  a  man  of  weak  imagination  would  have  solved  the  problem  : 
given  one  man  and  an  island,  to  make  a  storv.  In  Defoe's  story,  all  is  life  and 
action. M— Mortey. 


SAMUEL     RICHARDSON.  251 

Chatham  into  citing  the  volume  as  an  authentic  narrative.  In 
A  Journal  of  the  Great  Plague  in  London  (193),  he  shows  the  same 
marvelous  faculty  for  representing  fiction  as  truth.  The  imaginary 
annalist,  a  respectable  London  shopkeeper,  describes  the  terrible 
sights  and  incidents  of  that  time  with  a  vividness  that  is  appalling 
Tlie  Adventures  of  Colonel  Jack,  Moll  Flanders,  Hoxana,  and  Captain 
Singleton,  show  the  same  power  ol*  feigning  reality.  His  True  Rela- 
tion of  the  Apparition  of  one  Mrs.  Veal  was  one  of  the  boldest  experi- 
ments ever  made  upon  human  credulity,  and  yet  so  plausibly  was 
the  story  told  that  searching  inquiries  were  made  concerning  the 
facts  alleged.  His  only  object  in  telling  the  story  was  to  secure  the 
sale  of  a  dull  and  unsalable  book ;  and  his  purpose  was  accom- 
plished, for  the  whole  edition  of  Drelincourt  on  Death  quitted  the 
bookseller's  shelves  in  consequence  of  its  recommendation  by  the 
visitor  from  another  world. 

Defoe's  success  in  fiction  attracted  the  attention  of  other  writers. 
The  field  was  inviting ;  for  the  stage  was  not  in  favor,  the  periodi- 
cal essays  were  written  out,  and  the  popular  demand  for  literary 
entertainment  was  increasing.  To  supply  the  demand  a  company 
of  story-tellers  put  themselves  at  work. 

Samuel  Richardson  (1689-1761)  was  the  pioneer  in  that  branch 
of  fiction  which  grows  out  of  the  incidents  of  commonplace  affairs. 
His  life  presents  little  matter  for  comment ;  its  main  features  belong 
to  the  ordinary  career  of  a  prudent  and  successful  tradesman.  He 
was  bora  in  Derbyshire, — the  son  of  a  poor  carpenter.  At  fifteen 
years  of  age  he  went  to  London  to  become  a  printer's  apprentice. 
The  diligence  with  which  he  pursued  his  calling  secured  him  rapid 
advancement ;  he  was  taken  into  partnership  with  his  employer, 
and  ultimately  became  the  head  of  an  extensive  business.  At  fifty 
yeaui  of  age,  he  stumbled  into  a  path  leading  him  to  literary  fame. 
Letter-writing,  in  those  days,  was  regarded  as  an  important  branch 
of  composition, — a  means  of  literary  culture.  Richardson  had 
been  known  from  his  youth  as  a  fluent  letter  writer ;  and  a  London 
firm,  wishing  to  publish  a  series  of  model  letters  as  an  epistolary 
manual  for  the  lower  classes,  applied  to  him  as  the  suitable  person 
to  prepare  them.  After  he  had  accepted  the  commission,  he  con- 
ceived the  happy  idea  of  making  the  letters  tell  a  connected 
story.     The  result  of  his  undertaking  was  his  first  novel,  Pamela; 


252  SAMUEL     RICHARD  SON. 

1740.]  or  Virtue  Rewarded.  The  heroine  is  represented  as  a  poor 
beautiful,  and  innocent  country  girl,  who  enters  the  service 
of  a  rich  gentleman.  Most  of  the  letters,  in  which  the  master's 
wickedness  and  the  maid's  virtue  are  narrated,  are  written  by 
Pamela  herself.  Her  minute  descriptions  of  her  situation  and  sur- 
roundings, her  trials  and  heart-conflicts,  and  the  various  events  of 
her  anxious  life,  are  tedious  to  the  modern  reader.  But  they  pos- 
sess an  air  of  reality,  and  often  introduce  exquisite  touches  of 
nature  and  pathos.  The  sensation  made  among  readers  of  the  old 
school  of  chivalric  fable  by  this  ';  romance  of  real  life  "  was  un- 
paralleled. It  captivated  public  fancy  as  Hudibras  had  done  a 
century  before.  Fashionable  circles  made  it  the  theme  of  their 
enthusiasm;  grave  moralists  praised  its  fidelity  to  nature,  and 
popular  preachers  applauded  the  high  tone  of  its  morality.  Five 
editions  were  exhausted  in  a  single  year.  Richardson  suddenly 
found  himself  famous ;  but  his  was  not  a  mind  to  be  unsettled  by 
success.  He  continued  to  exercise  laudable  and  prosaic  industry 
in  his  business.  He  was  first  Printer  of  the  House  of  Commons; 
in  1754  he  became  Master  of  the  Stationers'  Company,  and  in  17C0  he 
bought  a  half-share  in  the  lucrative  office  of  Printer  to  the  King. 
In  the  intervals  of  business,  however,  writing  in  the  parlor  of  his 
back  shop,  he  assiduously  labored  to  develop  his  new-found  re- 
sources. Clarissa  Harlwoe,  published  in  1748,  and  Sir  Charles 
Grandison,  in  1753,  gave  fresh  evidence  of  his  literary  talent,  and 
attained  a  popularity  equal  to  that  of  their  predecessor.  Richard- 
son's pleasure  in  his  own  fame  was  somewhat  alloyed  by  his  over- 
sensitive temperament.  He  could  not  endure  with  complacency 
the  free  and  sometimes  caustic  criticism  passed  upon  his  work. 
For  some  years  before  his  death  he  withdrew  himself  from  general 
society,  and  passed  most  of  his  time  in  his  suburban  home  at  Par- 
son's Green,  London.  There  he  was  the  centre  of  a  little  g^pup 
of  admiring  women.  His  published  correspondence  and  literary 
remains  give  a  curious  picture  of  the  enervating  flattery  which 
soothed  his  timidity  and  nourished  his  self-satisfaction. 

Clarissa  Harlowe  is  Richardson's  greatest  work.  It  is  the  tragic 
story  of  a  young  lady  who  falls  a  victim  to  the  treachery  and 
profligacy  of  a  man  of  splendid  talent  and  attractions,  but  of  infa- 
mous character.  Although  Richardson  is  far  more  successful  in  the 
delineation  of  women  than  of  men,  yet  Lovelace  is  one  of  the  most 


HENRY     FIELDING.  253 

perfect  and  finished  portraits  that  literature  has  to  show.  In  this, 
as  in  Richardson's  other  novels,  the  interest  is  generated  by  the 
accumulation  of  a  thousand  delicate,  almost  imperceptible  touches, 
and  the  characters  are  elaborated  with  painful  minuteness.  It 
requires  an  effort  to  yield  the  attention  to  the  gentle,  equable  cur- 
rent of  incident  and  emotion ;  yet  after  a  time  its  force  is  found  to 
be  irresistible. 

In  his  three  successive  works  Richardson  portrayed  three  differ- 
ent orders  in  the  social  scale.  Pamela  dealt  with  the  low,  Clarissa 
Harlowe  with  the  middle  class  of  society.  In  Sir  Charles  Grandison 
he  intended  to  represent  an  ideal  hero  who  should  combine  the 
graces  and  accomplishments  of  the  man  of  fashion  with  the  per- 
fection of  mental  and  religious  culture. 

Henry  Fielding.  While  Richardson  was  enjoying  the  praise  of 
his  first  volume,  Henry  Fielding  (1707-1754)  set  himself  to  work 
to  ridicule  Pamela  and  to  rival  the  modest  printer.  In  character 
the  two  men  had  little  in  common.  Fielding  was  a  gay,  rollicking 
fellow,  who  laughed  at  virtue  and  hated  all  pretensions  to  dignity. 
He  had  inherited  a  broken-down  estate  and  extravagant  habits. 
At  twenty  years  of  age  he  found  himself  dependent  upon  his  own 
resources,  and  at  once  betook  himself  to  the  stage,  composing  many 
inferior  comedies,  and  writing  busily  for  the  journals  of  the  day. 
His  career  for  some  years  was  a  continuous  struggle  with  fortune. 
He  married  an  excellent  lady,  and  squandered  her  property ;  he  specu- 
lated in  the  Haymarket  Theatre,  and  failed  utterly  ;  he  then  tried 
the  law,  and  was  called  to  the  bar,  but  there  too  he  was  unsuccessful. 
He  also  took  an  active  part  in  political  controversy,  and  in  numer- 
ous pamphlets  and  articles  maintained  liberal  doctrines.  It  was  not 
until  the  year  1742  that  he  struck  out  that  vein  of  humorous  writ- 
ing in  which  he  had  no  rival.  His  first  novel,  Joseph  Andrews,  was 
a  powerful  caricature  of  the  timid  and  fastidious  morality,  the 
sentimentalism  and  the  somewhat  preaching  style  of  Pamela.  It 
at  once  received  the  honor  due  to  a  great  original  creation.  In 
rapid  succession  he  produced  his  Journey  from  this  World  to  the 
Next,  full  of  political  allusions  that  have  now  lost  their  piquancy, 
and  his  remarkable  satirical  tale,  The  Life  of  Jonatlian  Wild 
the  Great.  In  1749  he  had  been  appointed  a  police  magistrate. 
While  holding  this  office  he  composed  the  finest  of  his  works,  the 


254  HENRY     FIELDING. 

incomparable  Tom  Jones  (194),  a  story  whose  dramatic  scenes  and 
characters  must  have  been  drawn  from  the  exhibitions  of  real  life 
in  his  court. 

Amelia,,  his  third  great  novel,  closes  the  list.  Ruined  in  health 
by  labor  and  excesses,  he  sailed  for  Lisbon  in  1754,  seeking  benefit 
from  a  genial  climate;  but  before  the  close  of  that  year  he  was 
buried  in  the  strange  land. 

Fielding  was  an  accurate  observer  of  character.  With  the  vast 
and  motley  field  of  English  society,  so  strongly  marked  at  that  time, 
he  was  minutely  acquainted,  and  delighted  in  the  reproduction 
of  its  oddities  and  eccentricities.  He  is  intensely  English.  Hogarth 
himself  is  not  more  so.  In  the  construction  of  his  plots,  Fielding 
was  masterly.  That  of  Tom  Jones  is  perhaps  the  finest  example  to 
be  met  with  in  fiction,  of  a  series  of  events  probable,  yet  surprising, 
each  leading  to  the  ultimate  catastrophe.  He  combined  an  almost 
childish  delight  in  fun  and  ludicrous  incident,  with  a  philosophic 
analysis  of  character.  In  Tom  Jones  (194)  it  is  difficult  to  know 
what  most  to  admire — the  artful  conduct  of  the  plot,  the  immense 
variety,  truth,  and  humor  of  the  personages,  the  gayety  of  the  in- 
cidents, or  the  many  acute  remarks.  Tom  Jones  himself  and  the 
fair  Sophy,  though  elaborated  by  the  author  with  peculiar  care,  as 
types  of  all  that  he  thought  attractive,  are  tinged  with  much  coarse- 
ness and  vulgarity ;  but  the  time  when  Fielding  wrote  was  remark- 
able for  the  low  tone  of  manners  and  sentiment.  Sometimes  he 
masks  impressive  moral  reflections  under  a  pleasant  air  of  satire 
and  irony.  There  is  a  freshness  in  his  writing  not  found  in  Rich- 
ardson; there  is  also  boisterousness,  coarseness  of  thought,  and  an 
evident  delight  in  dealing  with  the  nature  of  the  depraved. 

The  most  attractive  character  in  Joseph  Andrews  is  Parson  Adams, 
whose  learning,  simplicity,  and  courage,  together  with  his  con- 
sistent oddities,  make  him  a  character  as  humorous  as  Sanelio 
Panza  himself.  In  the  adventures  of  Jonathan  Wild  the  Great,  the 
exploits  of  a  consummate  scoundrel  are  related  in  a  tone  of  ironical 
admiration  ;  and  the  story  contains  powerful  and  humorous  scenes. 

The  interest  of  Amelia  is  entirely  domestic.  The  story  wai 
Intended  to  portray  Fielding's  own  follies  and  irregularities,  and  to 
pay  a  tribute  to  the  virtues  and  fove  of  his  wife.  The  errors  and 
repentance  of  Captain  Booth,  and  the  inexhaustible  love  and  in- 
dulgence of  the  heroine,  are  strongly  contrasted.     Fielding  had 


TOBIAS     GEORGE     SMOLLETT.  255 

little  power  over  the  pathetic  emotions ;  there  are,  however,  in  this 
novel  several  touching  episodes  and  strokes  of  character  exhibiting 
that  peculiar  characteristic  of  truly  humorous  conceptions,  namely, 
the  power  of  touching  the  heart  while  exciting  the  sense  of  the 
ludicrous. 

Tobias  George  Smollett.  Nearly  contemporary  with  Fielding's 
aovels,  were  the  first  efforts  of  another  distinguished  worker  in  the 
same  field,— Tobias  George  Smollett  (1721-1771)  (195).  Smollett 
was  of  Scotch  parentage.  His  family,  though  poor,  gave  him  a 
university  education.  He  undertook  to  support  himself  by  the 
profession  of  medicine ;  but  his  attention  was  diverted  from  his 
studies  by  an  uncontrollable  desire  for  literary  fame,  and  his  life  was 
almost  as  checkered  and  distressed  as  that  of  Defoe.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  went  to  London,  hoping  to  secure  a  publisher  for  a 
tragedy  entitled  The  Regicide.  Failing  in  this,  he  embarked  in  an 
expedition  to  Carthagena  in  the  humble  office  of  surgeon's  mate. 
This  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  studying  those  grotesque  features 
of  sea-life  which  he  afterwards  reproduced  in  his  fictions.  Quitting 
the  service  after  he  had  reached  the  West  Indies,  he  resided  there 
until  he  returned  to  London  in  1746.  For  several  years  he  divided 
his  time  between  the  practice  of  medicine  and  the  pursuits  of  lit- 
erature. He  had  produced  several  satires  and  poems  of  trifling 
merit  before  1748 ;  in  that  year  Roderick  Random  opened  to  him  a 
career  as  a  novelist.  Three  years  later  it  was  followed  by  Peregrine 
Pickle,  and  in  1753  The  Adventures  of  Ferdinand,  Count  Fathom, 
a  counterpart  to  Fielding's  Jonathan  Wild,  appeared.  Previous  to 
this  Smollett  had  become  discouraged  with  his  small  success  as  a 
physician,  and  had  resolved  to  concentrate  his  energies  in  the 
efforts  of  his  pen.  He  produced  in  rapid  succession  a  translation 
of  Don  Quixote,  a  fourth  novel  entitled  Sir  Lancelot  Greaves,  and  a 
History  of  England,  in  which  he  displayed  his  partisan  prejudices. 
The  experiences  of  two  years  spent  in  foreign  travel  were  narrated 
in  a  Tour  in  France  and  Italy.  His  last  political  work  was  a  satiri- 
cal attack  upon  Lord  Bute,  entitled  The  Adventures  of  an  Atom.  At 
fifty  years  of  age  his  health  was  completely  broken  down  by  agita- 
tion and  incessant  labor,  and  he  was  ordered  to  try  the  effect  of  a 
more  genial  climate.  He  resided  a  short  time  at  Leghorn,  and 
there,  in  spite  of  exhaustion  and  suffering,  his  genius  gave  forth  its 


256  TOBIAS     GEOBGE     SMOLLETT. 

most  pleasing  flash  of  comic  humor.  This  was  the  novel  of  Hum- 
phrey  Clinker,  the  most  genial  and  humorous  of  his  works.  Like 
Fielding,  Smollett  died  and  was  buried  in  a  foreign  land.  The 
two  most  intensely  national  of  the  great  group  of  English  char- 
acter-painters were  doomed  to  lay  their  bones,  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  under  the  soil  of  the  stranger, 

Of  Smollett's  novels  Roderick  Random  is  in  some  respects  the 
most  vigorous.  It  is  full  of  transcripts  from  the  author's  personal 
experience ;  the  hero's  miseries  at  school,  his  apprenticeship  to  the 
apothecary,  his  sufferings  on  board  ship,  bear  every  mark  of  pic- 
tures from  life.  The  same  may  be  said  of  his  sailor-characters.  As 
a  rule  his  heroes  have  but  little  to  attract  the  reader's  sympathy, 
being  generally  hard,  impudent,  and  selfish  adventurers ;  but  in  the 
subordinate  persons,  and  especially  in  those  of  whimsical  but  faith- 
ful dependents,  he  shows  a  greater  warmth  of  sentiment.  Humphrey 
Clinker,  though  running  over  with  fun  and  grotesque  incident, 
exhibits  a  riper  and  mellower  tone  of  character-painting  than  is  to 
be  found  in  his  preceding  works.  This  novel  contains  much  that 
js  merely  descriptive ;  it  purports  to  be  the  travelling-journal  of 
the  droll  and  original  party  whose  letters  make  up  the  work.  The 
modern  reader  may  gather  many  interesting  details  of  life  in  the 
eighteenth  century  from  Smollett's  pictures  of  the  various  locali- 
ties in  England  and  Scotland  which  were  visited  in  the  imaginary 
tour. 

The  plots  of  Smollett's  novels  are  not  unfolded  with  the  slow  and 
logical  coherence  of  Richardson,  nor  are  the  incidents  combined  and 
grouped  with  that  masterly  knowledge  of  effect  which  distinguishes 
Fielding.  Each  of  his  novels  is  a  series  of  scenes— striking,  gro- 
tesque, farcical,  pathetic— with  no  bond  of  union  save  their  com- 
mon connection  with  two  or  three  chief  actors.  Yet  the  lively 
succession  of  persons  and  events  is  a  constant  stimulus  to  the 
attention.  Smollett's  characters  are  numerous  and  sketched  with 
great  animation,  but  they  are  not  analyzed  with  a  profound  knowl- 
edge of  passion  and  motive.  Having  seized  some  prominent  feature, 
or  having  placed  some  oddity  of  mind  or  person  in  a  strong  tight, 
he  ceased  to  care  for  development  and  consistency.  Many  of  his 
most  laughable  scenes  depend  for  their  effect  upon  physical  humor, 
—blows  and  kicks  and  extravagant  terrors;  but,  unlike  Fielding, 
he  fails  to  make  such  episodes  throw  light  upon  interesting  traita 


LAURENCE     STERNE.  257 

of  human  nature.  With  the  laugh  they  have  excited,  Smollett's 
use  of  them  is  at  an  end.  He  "  excels  most  as  the  lively  carica- 
turist ;  Fielding  as  the  exact  painter  and  profound  metaphysician." 
We  have  already  referred  to  Smollett's  works  as  a  political  writer. 
He  also  possessed  considerable  poetical  talent.  His  best  effort  in 
this  department  is  entitled  the  Tears  of  Scotland.  It  expresses  the 
patriotic  indignation  of  a  generous  mind,  horror-struck  by  the 
cruelties  perpetrated  by  the  English  troops  after  the  battle  of 
Culloden. 

Laurence  Sterne  (1713-1768)  was  as  eccentric  as  his  works.  He 
was  born  in  Ireland,  but  received  his  education  at  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  He  entered  the  church,  and  through  the  influence 
of  his  relatives  secured  a  rich  living.  His  private  life  was  little 
in  harmony  with  his  profession ;  he  appears  to  have  been  fanciful, 
vain,  and  self-indulgent,  perpetually  at  war  with  his  brother 
churchmen,  and  to  have  masked  caprice  and  selfishness  in 
his  domestic  relations  under  a  pretence  of  extreme  sensibility. 
In  1759  he  published  the  first  two  volumes  of  a  novel  entitled 
Tristram  Shandy  (196)-  The  freshness  and  oddity  of  his  style,  and 
the  grotesqueness  of  his  humor,  captivated  popular  taste.  Seven 
volumes  more  of  the  same  story  appeared  during  the  next  eight 
years.  Sterne  became  the  lion  of  fashionable  society  in  London. 
For  a  time  he  indulged  his  morbid  appetite  for  flattery  and  his  pro- 
pensity to  sentimental  intrigue  in  the  brilliant  circles  of  the  capital. 
He  then  went  to  the  Continent;  and  during  his  travels  through 
France  and  Italy  accumulated  the  materials  for  his  charming  Senti- 
mental Journey.  This  was  his  best  and  last  production ;  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  London  for  the  purpose  of  superintending  its 
publication,  and  died  in  desolate  lodgings,  in  the. fifty-fifth  year  of 
his  age. 

Sterne's  works  consist  of  the  novel  of  Tristram  Shandy,  of  the 
Sentimental  Journey,  and  of  a  collection  of  Sermons,  written  in  the 
odd  and  fantastic  style  which  he  brought  into  temporary  vogue. 
Tristram  Shandy,  though  nominally  a  romance  in  the  biographical 
form,  is  intentionally  irregular  and  capricious.  The  hero  makes  no 
appearance  on  the  scene  of  action,  and  the  story  consists  of  a  series 
of  episodes  which  introduce  the  reader  to  the  home-life  of  an 
English  country  family.     This  family  is  one  of  the  most  amusing 


258  I.  A  I'RENCE    sti:  B  x  B. 

collections  of  odd  individualities  that  ever  genius  has  delineated. 
The  mythical  Tristram,  and  Yorick,  a  humorous  clergyman  in  whom 
Sterne  his  idealized  his  ow::  character,  alternately  carry  on  the 
narrative;  and  other  prominent  personages  are  Walter  Shandy,  a 
retired  merchant,  the  father  of  Tristram,  his  wife,  his  brother,  Toby 
Shandy,  a  veteran  officer,  and  his  servant,  Corporal  Trim.  Mr. 
Shandy,  the  restless,  crotchety  philosopher,  is  drawn  with  consum- 
mate skill,  and  is  contrasted  with  the  simple  benevolence  and 
professional  enthusiasm  of  the  unequaled  Uncle  Toby,  a  creation  of 
the  order  of  Sancho  Panza  and  Parson  Adams.  The  Sentimental 
Journey  was  intended  by  its  author  to  form  a  sequel  to  T/istram 
Shandy.  It  has  glaring  faults,  both  in  taste  and  in  morality  ;  yd 
it  abounds  in  charming  descriptions  and  passages  of  quaint  pathos. 
Acute  observation  of  the  minor  traits  of  human  nature  seems  to 
have  been  Sterne's  strongest  quality.  He  portrays  his  characters 
not  by  description,  but  by  allusion,  and  fascinates  the  reader  by 
incidental  and  unexpected  revelations  of  their  amiable  eccentrici- 
ties. He  also  shows  himself  a  master  in  combining  humor  and 
pathos;  although  the  one  sometimes  degenerates  into  buffoonery, 
and  the  other  into  sentimentality.  Much  may  be  forgiven  the 
author,  in  consideration  of  his  candid  and  appreciative  tone  in 
treating  of  foreigners  and  foreign  institutions.  Such  a  tone  was 
equally  rare  and  laudable,  at  a  time  when  Englishmen  regarded  all 
other  nations  with  the  most  bigoted  prejudice  and  hostility. 

In  Sterne's  writings  there  is  a  parade  of  obscure  and  quaint 
erudition.  This  tends  to  give  an  original  flavor  to  his  style, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  writing,  when  the  elder  authors  were  but 
little  studied,  it  passed  for  an  indication  of  extensive  leamiug; 
but  he  is  now  known  to  have  been  the  boldest  of  plajiiansts, 
pillaging  without  scruple  the  pages  of  Burton,  Rabelais,  and  fbi 
old  lawyers  and  canonists. 


tn  this  chapter  we  have  considered  ;— 

The  First  Ureal  Xor<  lists. 
1.  Daniel  Defoe;  2.  Samuel  liiehardson  ;  3.  Henry 
Fielding  ;  4.  Tobias  George  Smollett;  5.  Lau- 
rence Sterne* 


CHAPTER  XXL 

HISTORICAL  WRITERS  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

XN  accordance  with  a  law  which  seems  at  particular  epochs  to 
govern  the  appearance  of  great  names  in  one  department  of  art 
or  literature,  like  the  sculptors  of  the  Periclean  age,  the  romantic 
dramatists  in  that  of  Elizabeth,  and  the  English  novelists  whom  we 
have  been  discussing  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  was  signalized  by  a  remarkable  wealth  of  his- 
torical genius,  and  gave  birth  to  Hume,  Robertson  and  Gibbon. 

David  Hume  (1711-1776),  a  Scotchman,  was  educated  at  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  A  taste  for  literature  and  literary  pur- 
suits early  declared  itself  as  his  ruling  passion,  but  the  limited  cir- 
cumstances of  his  family  seemed  to  make  its  gratification  impossible. 
However,  after  a  vain  attempt  to  devote  himself  to  the  law,  and  an 
equally  unsuccessful  trial  of  commercial  life,  Hume  resolved  "  to 
make  a  very  rigid  frugality  supply  his  deficiency  of  fortune,  and  to 
regard  every  object  as  contemptible  except  the  improvement  of 
his  talents  in  literature."  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  went  to 
France  with  the  intention  of  pursuing  his  studies  in  a  country 
retreat.  Three  years  passed  very  agreeably  in  close  attention  to 
philosophy  and  general  literature.  In  1737  he  returned  to  Great 
Britain  to  publish  the  first-fruits  of  his  pen,  A  Treatise  on  Human 
Nature.  "  Never,"  says  Hume's  autobiography,  "  was  literary  at- 
tempt more  unfortunate.  But  being  naturally  of  a  cheerful  and 
sanguine  temper,  I  very  soon  recovered  the  blow."  The  first 
volume  of  Moral  and  Philosophical  Essays,  published  in  1741.  met 
with  a  more  favorable  reception  ;  but  the  wavering  fortunes  of  the 
next  ten  years  would  have  chilled  the  aspirations  of  a  less  resolute 
soul.  True  to  his  resolve,  Hume  eked  out  his  slender  patrimony 
with  genuine  Scotch  thrift ;  it  was,  however,  hardly  sufficient  foi 


260  DAVID     HUME. 

his  support,  and  as  yet  his  receipts  from  the  booksellers  were  very 
small.  By  acting  for  one  year  as  tutor  to  an  insane  nobleman,  and 
for  two  more  as  aid-de-camp  of  a  military  embassy,  he  obtained 
what  seemed  to  his  modest  desires  a  competence.  He  then,  in  1752, 
became  Librarian  of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  in  Edinburgh.  This 
position  brought  him  no  salary,  but  placed  at  his  command  a  large 
and  excellent  collection  of  books.  With  the  aid  thus  furnished  he 
began  his  great  work,  the  History  of  England  from  the  Accession  of 
the  Stuarts  to  the  Revolution  of  1688  (203).  To  this  he  afterwards 
added  the  earlier  history,  from  the  invasion  of  Julius  Caesar  to  the 
reign  of  James  I.  The  first  two  volumes  were  received  with  the 
same  neglect  which  had  blighted  his  former  publications;  and 
indifference  became  general  odium  when  the  work  was  found  to  be 
an  embodiment  of  high  Tory  principles.  However,  the  great 
merits  of  the  plan  and  the  excellence  of  the  style,  revealed  more  and 

more  with  each  successive  volume,  gradually  overcame 
1762.]     prejudice.     Before  the  time  of  its  completion,  the  History 

had  attained  great  reputation.  One  edition  after  another 
was  rapidly  bought  up ;  and  common  consent  named  Hume  the 
first  of  English  historians.  He  now  received  a  call  to  public  ser- 
vice, and  attended  Lord  Hertford  on  his  embassy  to  Paris.  Al- 
though he  had  neither  the  personal  graces  nor  the  conversational 
talents  requisite  for  shining  in  the  brilliant  society  of  that  capital, 
his  literary  reputation  secured  him  abundant  homage.  His  auto- 
biography speaks  with  evident  complacency  of  the  u  excessive 
civilities  "  he  received  from  "  men  and  women  of  all  ranks  and 
stations."  After  his  return  to  Scotland,  he  for  two  years  discharged 
the  duties  of  Under-Secretary  of  State.  The  emoluments  of  his 
public  offices,  added  to  his  income  from  the  publishers,  had  by  this 
time  raised  him  to  comparative  affluence.  He  retired  to  his  native 
city  of  Edinburgh,  and  passed  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  the 
tranquil  enjoyment  of  his  literary  fame,  aud  in  the  affection  of  his 
personal  friends. 

The  History  of  England  is  a  book  of  very  high  value.  It  has  ease 
and  vivacity  of  narration;  and  in  the  analys.'s  of  character  and  the 
appreciation  of  great  events,  Hume's  philosophic  view  gives  him  a 
right  to  one  of  the  foremost  places  among  modern  historians.  But 
its  defects  are  no  less  considerable.  Hume's  indolence  induced  him 
to  remain  contented  with  taking  his  facts  from  preceding  writers. 


WILLIAM     ROBERTSON.  261 

without  troubling  himself  about  accuracy,  so  that  he  must  be  read 
with  distrust  whenever  he  discusses  questions  that  demand  patient 
research. 

As  a  metaphysical  writer  Hume  deserves  a  distinguished  place 
in  the  history  of  philosophy  (204)-  He  was  a  skeptic  of  the  most 
logical  and  uncompromising  type. 

William  Robertson.  Naming  them  in  the  order  of  their  birth, 
the  second  in  this  group  of  historians  is  William  Robertson  (1721- 
1793),  the  son  of  a  Scotch  clergyman.  At  twenty-two  years  of  age 
he  entered  his  father's  profession,  and  began  his  public  work  in  a 
quiet  rural  parish.  There  he  remained  for  fifteen  years,  acquiring 
skill  as  a  writer  in  the  composition  of  his  sermons,  gaining  reputa- 
tion as  a  scholarly  thinker,  and  devoting  all  the  time  he  could  spare 
to  the  study  of  history.  In  1758  he  was  promoted  to  the  charge 
of  an  important  church  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  the  following  year  he 
introduced  himself  to  the  literary  world  by  the  publication  of 
A  History  of  Scotland  during  the  Reigns  of  Queen  Mary  and  James  the 
Sixth  (205)-  Three  years  later  he  was  appointed  Principal  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  and  Royal  Historiographer  of  Scotland. 
Ten  years  after  the  publication  of  his  History  of  Scotland,  his  greatest 
work,  The  History  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth  of  Germany,  was 
ready  for  the  press.  Eight  years  more  were  spent  in  preparing  his 
History  of  America. 

Like  Hume  he  is  distinguished  by  the  eloquence  of  his  narrative, 
by  the  picturesque  delineation  of  characters  and  events,  and  by  the 
purity  and  dignity  of  his  style.  In  all  of  his  works  there  is  richness 
and  melody  of  expression,  and  vivid  description ;  but  there  is  lack 
of  accuracy  in  research.  Recent  investigations  made  by  Prescott 
and  by  English  writers  have  dispelled  some  of  the  romance  of 
Robertson.  "  The  fault  of  this  great  historian  was  one  common  to 
the  writers  of  his  time.  Filled  with  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the 
dignity  of  history,  he  trembles  at  the  thought  of  descending  to  so 
mean  a  thing  as  daily  life.  The  Emperor  moves  before  us  in  all 
his  grandeur,  the  rich  velvet  of  his  train  sweeping  in  stately  waves 
upon  the  marble  that  he  treads.  We  know  many  of  the  laws  he 
made,  the  wars  he  waged,  the  great  public  assemblies  and  pageants 
of  which  he  was  the  brilliant  central  figure ;  but  we  know  little 
of  the  man  who  dwelt  within  the  gorgeous  wrappings Of 


262  EDWARD     GIBBON. 

the  many-hued  life  the  people  lived,  we  hear  next  to  nothing."* 
But  in  spite  of  his  defects,  Robertson's  name  will  always  hold  an 
honorable  place  among  the  historians  of  England. 

Edward  Gibbon  (1737-1794)  was  the  greatest  historical  writer 
of  this  group.  He  was  born  at  Putney,  near  London,  and  was  the 
grandson  of  a  merchant  of  large  fortune.  As  his  health  was  deli- 
cate, his  early  education  was  neglected;  but  he  acquired  an  in- 
satiable appetite  for  reading,  especially  for  historical  literature. 
When  he  had  been  at  the  University  of  Oxford  a  little  more  than  a 
year,  he  embraced  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  For  this  act  he  was 
taken  from  the  University  and  was  sent  to  Lausanne,  where  be  was 
placed  under  the  care  of  an  eminent  Swiss  theologian.  He  subse- 
quently re-entered  the  Protestant  Church ;  but  it  is  probable  that 
this  change  of  faith  was  only  a  matter  of  form,  about  which  he 
was  indifferent.  In  Switzerland  he  commenced  that  course  of 
systematic  study  which  gradually  filled  his  mind  with  stores  of 
sacred  and  profane  learning;  and  there  too  he  acquired  a  strong 
sympathy  with  French  modes  of  thought.  Indeed,  the  first-fruits 
of  his  pen  actually  appeared  in  French,  an  essay  on  t':e  Study  <f 
Literature.  Between  1763  and  1765  he  traveled  over  France,  Swit- 
zerland, and  Italy.  His  own  words  must  be  used  in  describing  an 
incident  which  occurred  in  1764.  M  As  I  sat  musing  amidst  the 
ruin  of  the  Capitol,  while  the  barefooted  friars  were  singing  vespers 
in  the  Temple  of  Jupiter,  the  idea  of  writing  the  Decline  and  Fall 
of  the  city  first  started  to  my  mind."  t 

Returning  to  England  in  1765  he  passed  several  years  in  com- 
parative leisure,  before  setting  himself  at  work  on  the  composition 
of  his  history.     The  first  volume  appeared  in  1776,  receiving  the 
applause  of  the  learned,  and  the  favor  of  the  mass  of 
1776.J     readers.     Meanwhile  Gibbon  had  taken  a  seat  in  Parlia- 
ment and  was  interested  in  the  political  questions  of  the 
day.     His  support  was  given  to  Lord  North  throughout  the  period 
of  our  Revolutionary  War.     In  1781   the  second  and  third  volumes 
of  his  history  were  published.     He  then  retired  from  the  service 
of  the  government,  sought  his  old  retreat  at   Lausanne,  and   for 
four  years  devoted  himself  to  the  completion  of  his  work.     He 
Uius  describes  the  hour  and  the  scene  when  the  task  was  ended  : 
*  Collier.  t  Memoirs,  p.  198. 


EDWARD     GIBBON".  263 

"It  was  on  the  day,  or  rather  night,  of  the  27th  of  June,  1787,  be- 
tween the  hours  of  eleven  and  twelve,  that  I  wrote  the  last  lines  of 
the  last  page,  in  a  summer  house  in  my  garden.  After  laying  down 
my  pen,  I  took  several  turns  in  a  ~bcrceau  or  covered  walk  of  acacias, 
which  commands  a  prospect  of  the  country,  the  lake,  and  the 
mountains.  The  air  was  temperate,  the  sfcy  was  serene,  the  silver 
orb  of  the  moon  was  reflected  from  the  waters,  and  all  nature  was 
silent.  I  will  not  dissemble  the  first  emotions  of  joy  on  the  recov- 
ery of  my  freedom,  and  perhaps  the  establishment  of  my  fame. 
But  my  pride  was  soon  humbled,  and  a  sober  melancholy  was  spread 
over  my  mind  by  the  idea  that  I  had  taken  an  everlasting  leave  of 
an  old  and  agreeable  companion ;  and  that,  whatsoever  might  be 
the  future  fate  of  my  history,  the  life  of  the  historian  must  be  short 
and  precarious."     He  died  in  London  in  1794. 

Scope  of  Gibbon's  History.  Tlie  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall 
of  the  Roman  Empire  (206-209)  is  one  of  the  greatest  monuments 
of  human  industry  and  skill.  It  begins  with  the  reign  of  Trajan, 
a.  d.  98,  and  closes  with  the  fall  of  the  Eastern  Empire  in  1453. 
These  thirteen  and  a  half  centuries  include  not  only  the  slow  decline 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  but  also  the  irruption  of  the  barbarians,  the 
establishment  of  the  Byzantine  power,  the  re-organization  of  the 
European  nations,  the  foundation  of  the  religious  and  political 
system  of  Mohammedanism,  and  the  Crusades.  The  materials  for 
much  of  the  structure  had  to  be  patiently  gathered  from  the  rub- 
bish of  the  Byzantine  annalists,  and  from  the  wild  stories  of  the 
Eastern  chroniclers.  -To  bring  light  and  order  out  of  this  chaos,  the 
historian  had  to  make  himself  familiar  with  philosophy,  religion, 
science,  jurisprudence  and  war,  as  they  contributed  to  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  nations  and  ages  described  by  him.  And  when  all  this 
work  was  done,  he  had  to  set  it  forth  in  an  attractive  manner.  For 
the  influences  exerted  by  the  literature  and  civilizations  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  he  had  adequate  appreciation ;  but  he  is  not  mindful 
of  the  important  part  played  by  the  Teutonic  races  in  contributing 
to  the  results  of  modern  history,  and  is  boldly  skeptical  concerning 
the  power  and  purity  of  Christianity.  He  has  been  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  enemies  by  whom  the  Christian  faith  has 
been  assailed.  Earnest  men  have  taken  up  weapons  against  him, 
and,  in  some  instances,  have  been  betrayed  by  their  zeal  into  an 


264  EDWARD     GIBBON. 

unfair  warfare  upon  him.  The  accusation  of  having  intentionally 
distorted  facts,  or  of  garbling  authorities,  he  has  refuted  in  the 
Vindication  in  which  he  replied  to  his  opponents  ;  and  the  deliber- 
ate opinion  of  Guizot,  whom  no  one  can  accuse' of  indifference  to 
religion,  will  be  conclusive  as  to  Gibbon's  merit  on  this  point. 

His  style  is  elaborate  ^nd  sonorous.  There  is  something  stately 
in  his  sentences.  They  lack  simplicity ;  they  abound  in  epigram 
and  antithesis,  and  show  a  displeasing  preponderance  of  the  Latin 
over  the  Saxon  element  in  their  diction.  He  describes  scenery  and 
manners  with  the  accuracy  and  vividness  of  an  eye-witness.  His 
chief  fault  is  found  in  the  fact  that  his  imagination  was  sensuous, 
and  led  him  to  dwell  upon  material  grandeur  with  a  fondei 
enthusiasm  than  he  could  feel  for  moral  elevation  (206-209). 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered : — 

Historical  Writers  of  the  Eighteenth  Century* 

1.  David  Hume, 

2.  William  Robertson, 

3.  Edward  Gibbon, 


CHAPTER  XXH. 

ETHICAL,     POLITICAL,     AND    THEOLOGICAL    WRITERS    OF    THE 
LATTER  HALF  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 

11  Amass  of  genuine  manhood." — Thomas  Carlyle. 

"  Johnson,  to  be  sure,  has  a  rough  manner  ;  hut  no  man  alive  has  a  better  heart. 
He  has  nothing  of  the  bear  but  the  skin."—  Oliver  Goldsmith. 

"  Rabelais  and  all  other  wits  are  nothing  compared  to  him.  You  may  be  diverted 
by  them  ;  but  Johnson  gives  you  a  forcible  hng  and  squeezes  laughter  out  of  you, 
whether  you  will  or  no." — David  Garrick. 

"  If  it  be  asked,  who  first,  in  England,  at  this  period,  breasted  the  waves  and 
stemmed  the  tide  of  infidelity, — who,  enlisting  wit  and  eloquence,  together  with 
argument  and  learning  on  the  side  of  revealed  religion,  first  turned  the  literary 
current  in  its  favor,  and  mainly  prepared  the  reaction  which  succeeded— that  praise 
seems  most  justly  to  belong  to  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson." — Lord  Mahon;  History  of 
England. 

"  The  club-room  is  before  us,  and  the  table  on  which  stands  the  omelet  for  Nugent, 
and  the  lemons  for  Johnson.  There  are  assembled  those  heads  which  live  forever 
on  the  canvas  of  Reynolds.  There  are  the  spectacles  of  Burke  and  the  tall  thin 
form  of  Langton,  the  courtly  sneer  of  Beauclerc  and  the  beaming  smile  of  Garrick  ; 
Gibbon,  tapping  his  snuff-box,  and  Sir  Joshua  with  his  trumpet  in  his  ear.  In  the 
foreground  is  that  strange  figure  which  is  as  familiar  to  us  as  the  figures  of  those 
among  whom  we  have  been  brought  up ;  the  gigantic  body,  the  huge,  massy  face 
seamed  with  the  scars  of  disease,  the  brown  coat,  the  black  worsted  stockings,  the 
gray  wig  with  the  scorched  foretop,  the  dirty  hands,  the  nails  bitten  and  pared  to 
the  quick.  We  see  the  eyes  and  mouth  moving  with  convulsive  twitches  ;  we  see 
the  heavy  form  rolling,  we  hear  it  puffing  ;  and  then  comes  the  '  Why,  sir ! '  and  the 
4  What  then,  sir  ?  '  and  the  '  No,  sir  ! '  and  the  *  You  don't  see  your  way  through  the 
question,  sir  1 '  "—  T.  B.  Macaulay. 

"T"TT"HILE  the  novelists  and  historians  whose  works  we 
VV  have  been  considering  were  busy  with  their  pens, 
other  writers  of  prose  were  making  valuable  contributions 
to  letters  in  the  departments  of  ethics,  politics,  and  theology. 
The  central  figure  of  the  literary  men  of  the  period  is  Samuel 
12 


266  SAMUEL     JOHNSON-. 

Johnson  (1709-1784).  He  was  the  son  of  a  poor  bookseller 
in  Lichfield.  From  his  childhood  he  had  to  struggle  against 
disease,  melancholy,  and  an  indolent  disposition.  In  1728 
he  was  sent  to  Oxford.  There  he  remained  three  years, 
until  his  dying  father  had  become  unable  to  help  him. 
Leaving  the  University  without  his  degree,  he  attempted 
to  support  himself  by  teaching;  but  he  was  unsuccessful, 
and  turned  his  attention  to  literary  work.  He  was  already 
married  to  a  lady  old  enough  to  be  his  mother.  Without 
fortune  and  friendless,  he  settled  in  London  in  1737,  begin- 
ning his  twenty-five  years  of  struggle  with  labor  and  want.* 
The  profession  he  had  chosen  was  then  at  its  lowest  ebb, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  do  its  humblest  work.  He  was  a 
bookseller's  hack,  a  mere  literary  drudge.  Poverty  attended 
him.  Once,  in  a  note  to  his  employer,  he  subscribed  him- 
self, "  Yours,  impransus,  S.  Johnson."  He  wrote  for  various 
publications,  and  particularly  for  the  Gentleman? $  Magazine, 
furnishing  criticism,  prefaces  and  translations.  In  1738  he 
made  a  good  name  among  the  booksellers  by  the  sale  of  his 
London  (215),  an  admirable  paraphrase  of  the  third  satire 
of  Juvenal.  In  1744  he  published  A  Life  of  Savage,  that 
unhappy  poet  whose  career  was  so  extraordinary,  ami  whose 
vices  were  not  less  striking  than  his  talents.  Johnson  had 
known  him  well,  and  they  had  often  wandered  Bupperlesa 
and  homeless  about  the  streets  at  midnight.  Indeed,  no 
literary  life  was  ever  a  more  correct  exemplification  than  his 
own  of  the  truth  of  his  majestic  line: 

"Slow  rises  worth  by  poverty  depressed." 

Johnson's  Dictionary.     From  1747  to  1755  Johnson  was 

engaged   in  the   preparation  of  his  most    famous 

1755.]     work,  A  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language  (211). 

He  had  promised  to  complete  it  in  three  years  ;  but 

*  David  Garrick.  a  younjr  man  who  had  been  one  of  his  pupils,  accompanied 
Johnson  to  London,  intending  to  study  law  at  Lincoln's  Inn  ;  but  the  ittfll 
attracted  him  away  from  the  bar.  and  he  soon  begta  his  famous  career  as  an  actor. 


SAMUEL     JOHKSOH.  267 

the  labor  was  arduous,  and  seven  years  were  spent  in  getting 
its  pages  ready  for  the  printer.  As  there  was  no  such  work 
in  English  literature,  it  supplied  a  want  that  had  been  long 
felt.  Its  success  was  great,  and  its  compiler  was  applauded 
far  and  wide.  Many  imperfections  may  be  found  in  it, 
especially  in  its  etymologies,  for  Johnson  shared  the  general 
English  ignorance  of  the  Teutonic  languages  from  which 
two-thirds  of  the  words  of  our  language  are  derived.  But 
in  the  accuracy  of  its  definitions  and  in  the  quotations  ad- 
duced to  exemplify  the  different  meanings  of  words,  it  could 
not  have  been  surpassed. 

While  at  work  upon  his  Dictionary  he  diverted  his  mind 
by  the  publication  of  The  Vanity  of  Human  Wishes  (216), 
an  imitation  of  the  tenth  satire  of  Juvenal;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  brought  out  upon  the  stage  his  tragedy  of 
Irene,  a  work  begun  in  his  earlier  years. 

His  Periodicals.  Johnson  founded,  and  carried  on  alone, 
two  periodical  papers  in  the  style  that  Addison  and  Steele 
had  rendered  so  popular.  These  were  the  Rambler  (212), 
and  the  Idler ;  the  former  was  published  from  1750  until 
1752,  and  the  latter  from  1758  until  1760.  The  ease,  grace, 
pleasantry,  and  variety  which  gave  such  charm  to  the  Taller 
and  Spectator  are  totally  incompatible  with  the  manner  of 
Johnson;  and  his  good  sense,  piety,  and  sombre  tone  of 
morality  are  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the  knowledge  of  the 
world  displayed  in  his  models.  This  species  of  periodical 
essay-writing,  which  exerted  so  powerful  an  influence  on 
taste  and  manners  in  the  eighteenth  century,  may  be  said 
to  terminate  with  the  Idler,  though  continued  with  gradually 
decreasing  originality  by  other  writers. 

Rasselas.  Johnson's  mother  died  in  1759,  and  he  was 
without  the  funds  needed  to  pay  the  expenses  of  her  funeral. 


268  .SAMUEL     JOHNSON. 

To  raise  this  money,  be  spent  the  nights  of  one  week  in  the 
composition  of  his  once  famous  moral  tale,  Rasselas,  Prince 
of  Abyssinia.  The  manners  and  scenery  of  this  story  are 
neither  those  of  an  Oriental  nor  of  any  other  country,  and  the 
book  is  but  a  series  of  dialogues  and  reflections,  embodying 
the  author's  ideas  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects  connected 
with  art,  literature,  society,  philosophy,  and  religion. 

His  Escape  from  Poverty.  It  was  not  until  1762,  when 
he  was  fifty-three  years  of  age,  that  he  escaped  from  the 
poverty  against  which  he  had  long  and  valiantly  struggled. 
At  the  accession  of  George  III.  the  government  hoped  to 
gain  popularity  by  showing  favor  to  art  and  letters.  John- 
son was  recognized  as  holding  a  high  position  among  literary 
workers,  and  was  selected  as  one  who  should  enjoy  the  royal 
bounty.  A  pension  of  three  hundred  pounds  placed  him 
above  want,  and  enabled  him  to  indulge  his  constitutional 
indolence.  His  good-fortune  was  shared  with  the  poor.  A 
blind  old  woman,  a  peevish  old  man,  and  other  helpless 
people  found  a  home  in  his  dwelling,  and  in  him  a  patient 
friend. 

His  Acquaintance  with  Boswell.  Johnson's  earlier  life, 
with  its  poverty,  its  affliction,  its  toil,  is  not  distinctly  pictured 
by  his  biographer.  Its  mingled  romance  and  misery  keep 
us  from  intimate  acquaintance  with  him  before  the  day  of 
his  good-fortune,  but  from  that  time  he  is  known  M  is 
no  other  man  of  the  past ;  *  for  the  year  after  the  pension 


*  "  Johnson  grown  old,  Johnson  in  the  fullness  of  his  fame  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  a  competent  fortune,  is  better  known  to  us  thau  any  other  man  in  history. 
Everything  about  him,— his  coat,  his  wig,  his  figure,  his  face,  his  scrofula,  his  St. 
Vitus's  dance,  his  rolling  walk,  his  blinking  eye,  the  outward  signs  which  too 
clearly  marked  his  approbation  of  his  dinner,  his  insatiable  appetite  for  fish-sauce 
and  veal-pie  with  plums,  his  inextinguishable  thirst  for  tea,  bis  trick  of  touching 
the  posts  as  he  walked,  his  mysterious  practice  of  treasuring  up  scraps  of  orange 
peel,  his  morning  slumbers,  his  midnight  disputations,  his  contortions,  his  muttei* 


SAMUEL     JOHNSON.  269 

was  decreed  to  him,  he  became  acquainted  with  a  young 
Scotchman,  James  Boswell,  Esq.,  a  vain,  tattling,  frivolous 
busybody,  whose  only  claim  to  respect  is  that  he  produced  the 
best  biography  that  had  been  written  in  English, — and  that 
was  BoswelVs  Life  of  Johnson.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
acquaintance  Boswell  revered  the  sage,  listened  to  him  as 
though  his  sentences  were  sacredly  inspired,  and  treasured 
up  every  word  that  he  could,  as  it  came  from  the  lips  of  his 
saint.  Every  night  he  wrote  in  his  note-book  the  wise 
sayings  of  the  philosopher,  adding  notes  to  the  last  detail  of 
dialogue  and  of  action,  until,  at  last,  his  notes  gave  him  the 
material  with  which  to  produce  his  famous  book.  He  has 
given  not  only  the  most  lively  and  vivid  portrait  of  the  per- 
son, manners,  and  conversation  of  Johnson,  but  also  the 
most  admirable  picture  of  the  society  amid  which  he  played 
so  brilliant  a  part.  Among  the  celebrated  social  meetings 
of  that  age  of  clubs  was  the  society  founded  by  Johnson,  in 
which  his  friends,  Reynolds,  Burke,  Garrick,  Bishop  Percy, 
Goldsmith,  Bennet  Langton,  Beauclerc,  and  others,  were 
prominent  figures.  Johnson's  powers  of  conversation  were 
extraordinary,  and  were  freely  used  in  that  company.  He 
delighted  in  argument,  and,  by  constant  practice,  had  ac- 
quired the  art  of  expressing  himself  with  pointed  force 
and  elegance.  His  ponderous  style  formed  an  appropriate 
vehicle  for  his  weighty  thoughts  and  for  his  immense  stores 
of  reading  and  observation. 

In  1773  Johnson,  in  company  with  his  friend  Boswell, 
made  a  journey  to  the  Hebrides  (214),  which  enabled  him 
to  become  acquainted  with  Scotland  and  the  Scotch,  and 
thus  to  dissipate  many  of  his  odd   prejudices  against  the 


ings,  his  grunting?,  his  puffings,  his  vigorous,  acute,  and  ready  eloquence,  his  sar- 
castic wit,  his  vehemence,  his  insolence,  his  fits  of  tempestuous  rage,  his  queer 
inmates,  old  Mr.  Levett  and  hlind  Mrs.  Williams,  the  cat  Hodge  and  the  negro 
Prank, — all  are  as  familiar  to  us  as  the  ohjects  hy  which  we  have  heen  surrounded 
from  childhood."—  T.  B.  Macauiay. 


270  SAMUEL     JOHNSON". 

country  and  the  people.     The  volume  giving  an  accjunt  of 
his  impressions  contains  many  interesting  passages.* 

The  Thrales.  He  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  family  of 
a  rich  brewer  named  Thrale,  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  whose  wife  was  famous  for  her  talents  and  for  the 
intellectual  society  she  gathered  around  her.  Under  their 
roof  Johnson  enjoyed  all  that  friendship,  respect,  and  great 
wealth  could  give.  This  acquaintance  lasted  sixteen  years, 
and  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  frequenting  refined  society. 
In  the  company  of  the  Thrales  he  made  several  excursions  to 
different  parts  of  England,  and  once  to  Paris. 

His  edition  of  Shakespeare  appeared  in  1765.  It  cannot 
be  said  to  have  added  to  his  reputation.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  an  occasional  happy  remark,  and  a  sensible  selection 
from  the  commentaries  of  preceding  annotators,  it  is  quite 
unworthy  of  him. 

The  Lives  of  the  Poets  (213),  published  in  1781,  was  his 
last  important  work.  Johnson  had  undertaken  the  task  of 
preparing  very  brief  biographical  sketches,  and  a  critical 
preface  for  a  new  edition  of  the  English  poets.  His  infor- 
mation was  so  abundant  that  the  work  grew  into  a  volume, 
abounding  in  passages  of  the  happiest  and  most  original 
criticism.  But  no  reader  should  form  his  opinion  of  these 
poets  from  Johnson.  His  applause  is  given  to  the  writer* 
of  the  artificial  school;  Cowley,  Waller,  and  Pope  filled 
his  vision.    Others  he  could  not  understand.    His  criticisms 


*  The  Journey  to  the  Hebrides  was  a  work  re- written  from  private  lot  tors  ad- 
dressed  to  Mrs.  Thrale.  A  comparison  betweon  the  orisin.il  letters  and  the  version 
expressed  in  pompous  language,  such  as  Johnson  considered  e-si'iitial  to  the  dignity 
of  literature,  shows  many  amusing  transformations.  The  following  instance  fur- 
nishes an  illustr.it  ion.  "When  we  were  taken  up  stairs,"  he  says  in  one  of  the 
letters,  "a  dirty  fellow  bounced  out  of  the  bod  on  whieh  one  of  us  was  to  lie."  In 
the  Journey,  the  same  incident  is  thus  described,— "  Out  of  one  of  the  beds  ou 
which  we  were  to  repose,  started  up,  at  our  entrance,  a  man  black  as  a  Cyclops  from 
the  forge." 


SAMUEL     JOHNSON.  271 

on  Milton,  Gray,  Thomson,  Akenside,  were  denounced  at 
the  time  as  monstrous  examples  of  injustice.  In  uttering 
his  disapproval  of  Johnson's  treatment  of  Milton,  even  the 
patient  Cowper  said,  "I  could  thrash  his  old  jacket  till  I 
made  the  pension  jingle  in  his  pocket." 

Johnson's  Style  was  so  peculiar  that  it  has  received  the 
distinguishing  name  of  ' '  Johnsonese."  There  is  in  it  none 
of  Addison's  colloquial  elegance,  none  of  Swift's  idiomatic 
terseness.  Short  words  had  no  charm  for  him.  Sonorous 
Latin  derivatives,  and  carefully  elaborated  sentences,  were 
marshaled  in  honor  of  his  thoughts.  Whether  describing 
a  scene  in  a  tavern,  or  expatiating  on  the  grandest  of  moral 
themes,  the  same  display  of  language  makes  his  writing 
monotonous.  This  was  generally  thought  to  be  the  sign  of 
his  genius  by  the  men  of  letters  who  bowed  before  him; 
though  Goldsmith  once  boldly  declared  to  his  face,  "If  you 
were  to  write  a  fable  about  little  fishes,  Doctor,  you  would 
make  the  little  fishes  talk  like  whales."  "In  fact,  his 
phraseology  rolls  away  in  solemn  periods,  in  which  every 
substantive  marches  ceremoniously,  accompanied  by  its 
epithet;  pompous  words  peal  like  an  organ  ;  every  proposi- 
tion is  set  forth  balanced  by  a  proposition  of  equal  length ; 
thought  is  developed  with  the  compassed  regularity  and 
official  splendor  of  a  procession.f An  oratori- 
cal age  would  recognize  him  as  a  master,  and  attribute  to 
him  in  eloquence  the  primacy  which  it  attributed  to  Pope 
in  verse."  *  f 

Johnson's  Character  shows  a  blending  of  prejudice  and 
liberality,  of  skepticism  and  credulity,  of  bigotry  and  can- 
dor.    He  was  an  heroic  straggler  with  misfortune.     He  was 

*  Taine. 

t  Johnson's  famous  letter  to  Lord  Chesterfield  (210)  is  in  striking  contrast  with 
his  general  style. 


272  EDMUND     BURKE. 

one  of  the  invincibles.  Throughout  his  life  he  was  an 
independent,  resolute  man ;  in  boyhood  he  threw  away  the 
shoes  which  pity  had  sent  to  him,  in  manhood  he  threw 
away  the  tardy  courtesies  of  Chesterfield.  Among  frivolous 
men,  he  was  serious ;  among  scoffers,  he  was  reverent ; 
among  insincere  men,  he  was  sincere ;  among  selfish  men, 
he  was  generous.  Of  him  Carlyle  says,  "  As  for  Johnson, 
I  have  always  considered  him  to  be,  by  nature,  one  of  the 
great  English  souls."  In  common  breeding  he  was  utterly 
wanting;  his  dress,  his  motion,  his  voice,  his  face,  his  eating, 
— all  were  offensive.  We  think  of  him  as  a  most  ill-mannered 
man.  The  blending  of  greatness  and  meanness  puzzles  us 
until  we  remind  ourselves  that  his  severe  schooling  in  pov- 
erty developed  the  noble  and  the  boorish  traits  together. 
When,  weary  and  lame,  he  reached  the  top  of  the  ladder  by 
which  he  had  climbed  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  com- 
petence and  fame,  he  had  brought  with  him  the  begrimed 
and  offensive  manners  of  his  underground  life.  He  waa 
thoroughly  a  man  of  letters.  No  better  specimen  of  the 
type  appears  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

On  the  13th  of  December,  1784,  this  eminent  man  died, 
and  a  week  afterwards  he  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
For  two  years  he  had  been  suffering  from  dropsy  and  asthma, 
and  had  been  haunted  by  his  old  melancholy. 

Consult  Carlyle's  Essay*, -Walpole's  Men  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,— Albert 
Barnes's  Miscellaneous  Kssm/s— Hazlitt  On  the  Periodical  Essayists.— Macaulay's 
Essay  on  Samuel  Johnson,— Macaulay's  Essay  on  Crofter's  Elition  of  BosiceWs  IAf« 
of  Johnson,  and  BoswelVs  Life  of  Johnson. 

Edmund  Burke  (1730-1707)  was  a  man  of  smch  powerful  ind 
versatile  genius  that  lie  has  been  likened  to  Bacon.  He  stands 
foremost  among  English  political  writers  and  orators.  The  fervor 
and  imagery  of  oratory  are  found  in  his  philosophical  discussions, 
and  the  highest  qualities  of  the  statesman  and  the  man  of  letters 
appeal  in  all  of  Ins  pages.  He  was  the  son  of  an  Trish  attorney, 
and  spent  many  of  his  early  days  near  the  ruins  of  Spenser's  famous 


EDMUND     BURKE.  273 

castle  of  Kilcolman.  Early  in  life  he  went  to  England  to  study 
law,  but  his  tastes  soon  led  him  into  literary  work,  and  he  became 
a  regular  writer  for  the  magazines.  His  first  reputation  was  gained 
by  The  Vindication  of  Natural  Society r,  an  ironical  imitation  of  the 
style  and  sentiments  of  Lord  Bolingbroke.  In  pursuing  Boling- 
broke's  course  of  reasoning  he  reached  the  conclusion,  that  as 
wickedness  has  prevailed  under  every  form  of  government,  society 
itself  is  evil,  and  therefore,  that  only  the  savage  state  is  conducive 
to  virtue  and  happiness.  The  work  was  published  anonymously ; 
but  so  perfect  was  it  as  an  imitation  of  the  style  and  sentiment  of 
Bolingbroke  that  the  most  eminent  critics  of  the  da}\  among  them 
Samuel  Johnson,  did  not  detect  its  intense  and  delicate  irony,  and 
pronounced  it  a  genuine  posthumous  work  of  the  earlier  philoso- 
pher and  statesman. 

A  few  months  afterwards  Burke  published  An  Essay  on  the  Sub- 
lime and  Beautiful  (218),  which  has  since  been  regarded  as  one  of 
the  classics  in  our  literature. 

He  began  his  political  career  as  secretary  to  the  Chief  Secretary 
of  Ireland.  The  position  was  not  pleasing  to  him.  He  soon 
received  an  appointment  from  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham,  the 
Prime  Minister,  and  at  once  began  his  long  public  life  of  honor  and 
activity.  He  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  debaters  during  the  agitated  periods  of  the  Ameri- 
can and  French  Revolutions.  The  Reign  of  Terror  in  France 
transformed  Burke  from  a  constitutional  Whig  into  a  Tory,  but  at 
the  same  time  animated  his  genius  to  some  of  its  noblest  bursts  of 
eloquence.  His  Reflections  on  the  French  Revolution  (220)  was 
written  with  the  most  anxious  care,  and  with  the  most  masterly 
skill.  In  going  through  the  press  its  proofs  were  patiently  criti- 
cised eleven  times  before  he  was  satisfied  to  publish  the  work. 
When  it  appeared  its  success  amply  repaid  his  labor,  for  it  was 
read  far  and  wide,  and  was  influential  throughout  Europe  in 
checking  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  that  age.  His  Letter  to  a 
Noble  Lord  (222),  provoked  by  an  ungenerous  assault,  deservedly 
ranks  high  among  the  products  of  his  pen.  The  culminating  point 
of  his  political  life  was  his  action  in  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings 
(221).  In  that  majestic  and  solemn  scene,  where  a  great  nation 
sat  in  judgment  upon  a  great  man,  Burke  played  the  most  promi- 
nent part.     He  was  among   the   managers  of  the  impeachment, 


274  JUNIUS,     SMITH,     BLACKSTONE. 

and  acting  in  the  name  of  the  House  of  Commons  he  pronounced 
one  of  the  sublimest  philippics  that  ancient  or  modern  oratory  can 
show. 

The  Letters  of  Junius.  From  1769,  with  occasional  interrup- 
tions down  to  1772,  there  appeared  in  the  Public  Advertiser,  one 
of  the  leading  London  journals,  a  series  of  brilliantly  sarcastic 
letters,  for  the  most  part  signed  Junius  (223).  They  attacked  the 
public  men  of  the  day.  They  exhibited  so  much  weight  and 
dignity  of  style,  so  minute  an  acquaintance  with  the  details  of 
party  tactics,  and  breathed  so  lofty  a  political  tone,  combined 
with  such  bitterness,  even  ferocity  of  personal  invective,  that 
their  influence  was  unbounded.  The  annals  of  political  contro- 
versy show  nothing  more  fierce  than  these  lampoons.  Who  Junius 
was  still  remains  a  mystery.  Burke,  Hamilton,  Francis,  Lyttleton, 
and  Lord  George  Sackville  have  been  fixed  upon  successively  as 
their  writer.  The  preponderance  of  evidence  points  towards  Sir 
Philip  Francis. 

Adam  Smith  (1723-1790)  was  the  founder,  in  England,  of  the 
science  of  Political  Economy.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  a  Professor  of 
Logic  and  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Glasgow.  His 
most  important  work  is  the  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Cam*  i 
the  Wealth  of  Nations  (224).  This  discussion  was  the  result  of  tan 
years  of  study  and  investigation.  Upon  the  fact  that  the  only 
natural  process  by  which  a  nation  can  acquire  wealth  is  labor, 
he  laid  the  foundation  for  modern  economic  science.  His  clear 
and  logical  reasoning,  and  his  abundant  and  popular  illustration 
attracted  much  attention  to  his  teachings,  and  exerted  a  beneficial 
influence  on  legislation  and  commerce.  His  moral  and  metaphys- 
eal theories  are  now  forgotten,  but  his  Wealth  of  Nation*  still 
presents  the  general  principles  of  Political  Economy  in  their  most 
attractive  form. 

Sir  William  Blackstone.  What  Adam  Smith  did  for  the 
students  of  Political  Economy,  Sir  William  Blaoketone  <  1788  1780) 
.lid  for  the  students  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  England  He 
was  a  lawyer  who  mingled  a  itrong  mate  fof  elegant  literature  with 
the  graver  studies  of  his  profession.     His  OomnHAtarm    nth,  I.awt 


BUTLER,      PA  LEY.  275 

of  England  was  the  first  systematic  work  which  gave  the  elementary 
and  historical  knowledge  requisite  for  the  study.  The  book  ia 
written  in  an  easy  and  pleasant  style,  with  a  masterly  analysis,  and 
is  the  best  outline  of  the  history  and  the  principles  of  the  subject 
he  discusses. 

Butler  and  Paley.  The  most  prominent  names  in  the  English 
theological  literature  of  the  eighteenth  century  are  those  of 
Bishop  Butler  (1692-1752)  and  William  Paley  (1743-1805). 
Butler  is  more  remarkable  for  the  severe  and  coherent  logic  with 
which  he  demonstrates  his  conclusions ;  Paley,  for  his  consummate 
skill  in  popularizing  the  abstruser  arguments  of  his  predecessor. 
Butler's  principal  work  is  The  Analogy  of  Religion,  Natural  and 
Revealed,  to  the  Constitution  and  Course  of  Nature  (181).  In  it  he 
examines  the  resemblance  between  the  existence  and  attributes 
of  God  as  proved  by  arguments  drawn  from  the  works  of 
nature,  and  shows  that  existence  and  those  attributes  to  be  in 
no  way  incompatible  with  the  notions  conveyed  to  us  by  revela- 
tion. 

Paley's  books  are  numerous,  and  all  excellent;  chief  among 
them  are  Elements  of  Moral  and  Political  Philosophy,  the  Mora 
Paulina  (225),  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  the  production  of 
his  old  age,  the  Treatise  on  Natural  Theology.  It  will  be  seen  from 
the  titles  of  these  works,  over  what  an  extent  of  moral  and  theo- 
logical philosophy  Paley's  mind  had  traveled.  For  clearness, 
animation,  and  easy  grace,  his  style  has  rarely  been  equaled. 

Among  the  crowd  of  less  noticeable  writers  whose  names  might 
be  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  but  few  produced  works  that  still 
have  peculiar  value.  The  Elements  of  Criticism  by  Henry  Home, 
Lord  Kames,  and  The  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric  by  George  Campbell, 
in  spite  of  many  publications  on  the  same  subjects  since  their 
time,  continue  to  be  standard  authorities  in  their  respective  de- 
partments. 


276  LITERARY     W  B  ITERS. 

Ill  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

Ethical,  Political,  and  Theological   Writers  of  the 
Latter  Half  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 

1,  Samuel  Johnson. 

a.  Johnson's  Dictionary* 

b.  His  Periodicals. 

c.  His  Rasselas. 

d.  His  Escape  from  Poverty, 

e.  His  Acquaintance  with  Boswell, 

f.  The  Thrales. 

g.  The  Lives  of  the  Poets, 
h.  His  Style. 

i.  His  Cliaracter. 

2,  Edmund  Burke. 

3,  The  Letters  of  Junius, 

4,  Adam  Smith. 

5,  Sir  William  Blackstone. 

6,  Butler  and  Paley. 

7,  Henry  Home,  Lord  Karnes  ;  and  George  Camp- 

bell. 


CHAPTHE  XXUL 

THE   DAWN    OF   ROMANTIC    POETRY. 

fT^HE  mechanical  perfection  of  the  poetry  of  Pope  and  his  school 
I  was  so  generally  applauded  that  every  common  versifier  imi- 
tated its  tricks  of  melody  and  its  neat  antitheses.  But  a  thoroughly 
artificial  spirit  cannot  satisfy  the  demands  of  poetry.  Even  while 
Pope  swayed  the  sceptre,  there  were  indications  of  a  disposition  to 
seek  for  themes  in  a  wider  sphere.  In  Matthew  Greene's  poem 
The  Spleen,  in  The  Minstrel  of  James  Beattie,  and  in  The  Grave, 
by  Robert  Blair  (226),  this  tendency  is  perceptible,  and  may  be 
ascribed  to  a  weariness  coming  from  repetitions  of  far-off  echoes 
of  Pope. 

James  Thomson  (1700-1748)  was  a  leader  in  that  revolution 
of  popular  taste  and  sentiment  which  supplanted  the  artificial  by 
what  is  known  as  the  romantic  type  in  literature.  He  stands 
between  the  poets  of  the  first  and  the  poets  of  the  third  generation 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  In  his  fervid  descriptions  he  enters  a 
realm  of  poetry  unknown  to  Pope ;  but  he  does  not  reach  the 
poetry  of  emotion  and  passion  in  which  Burns  and  later  poets 
found  their  inspiration.  Thomson  was  educated  at  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  and  it  was  intended  that  he  should  be  a  preacher ; 
but  in  the  theological  class-room  he  was  so  imaginative  in  his 
interpretation  and  paraphrase  of  Scripture  that  he  was  cautioned 
by  his  professor  against  the  danger  of  exercising  his  poetic  faculty 
in  the  pulpit.  This  caution  diverted  him  from  his  calling,  and 
turned  him  into  the  paths  of  literature.  In  1725  he  went  to  Lon- 
don, carrying  with  him  an  unfinished  sketch  of  his  poem  on  'Winter 
(228).  After  much  discouragement  he  succeeded  in  selling  it  for 
three  guineas,  and  in  winning  a  handsome  purse  from  the  gentle- 
man to  whom  he  had  dedicated  it  with  flattering  phrases.     The 


278  THOMSON,     COLLINS. 

poem  was  received  with  favor.  Summer  was  published  in  1727, 
and  Thomson  then  issued  proposals  for  the  completion  of  the  cycle 
of  The  Seasons  (227)-  Sophonisba,  the  first  of  his  tragedies,  was 
published  in  1730.  For  two  years  he  traveled  in  France,  Switzer- 
land and  Italy,  and  on  his  return  to  England  in  1733,  was  appointed 
to  a  sinecure  office.  When  he  lost  this  office  the  Prince  of  Wftlea 
honored  him  with  a  pension,  and  a  lucrative  position  was  assigned 
him  by  the  King.  He  purchased  a  snug  cottage  near  Richmond, 
and  lived  in  modest  luxury.  It  was  a  pleasure  for  him  to  live.  He 
was  of  an  extremely  kind  and  generous  disposition,  making  him- 
self and  all  about  him  comfortable.  In  leisure  he  carried  on  his 
literary  work  until  his  death,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  TJie  Seasons  is  the  corner-stone  of  Thomson's  literary  fame. 
In  plan  and  in  treatment  it  is  original.  Its  description  of  the 
phenomena  of  nature  during  an  English  year  is  minute,  and  there- 
fore it  is  a  work  much  read  by  foreigners.  The  blank  verse,  though 
seldom  showing  any  of  the  Miltonic  grandeur,  is  rich  and  har- 
monious. Occasionally  the  style  is  pompous.  During  his  happy 
retirement  he  composed  The  Castle  of  Indolence  (229)*  the  most 
enchanting  of  the  many  imitations  of  Spenser's  style  His  easy 
daily  life  breathed  itself  into  this  charming  poem,  and  favored  a 
display  of  the  finest  qualities  of  his  poetic  genius.  In  literary 
finish  The  Castle  of  Indolence  is  superior  to  The  Season*.  The 
allegory  of  the  enchanted  "Land  of  Drowsihead,"  in  which  the 
unhappy  victims  of  Indolence  find  themselves  hopeless  captives, 
is  relieved  with  occasional  touches  of  a  sly  and  pleasant  humor. 

William  Collins.  The  career  of  William  Collins  (1721-1759) 
was  brief  and  unhappy.  He  exhibited  from  very  early  years  the 
strong  poetical  powers  of  a  genius  which,  ripened  by  practice  and 
experience,  would  have  made  him  the  first  lyrical  writer  of  his 
age.  But  his  ambition  was  fitful.  He  led  a  life  of  projects  and 
dissipation  ;  and  the  first  shock  of  literary  disappointment  drove 
him  to  despondency,  despondency  to  indulgence  and  indulgence  to 
insanity,  nis  first  publication  was  a  series  of  Eclogues,  trans- 
ferring the  usual  sentiments  of  pastoral  verse  to  the  scenery  and 
manners  of  the  East.  Although  these  eclogues  exhibit  traces  of 
vivid  imagery  and  melodious  verse,  the  real  genius  of  Collins  must 
be  looked  for  in  his  Odes.     Judged  by  them,  he  will  be  fouud 


THOMAS     GRAY.  279 

entitled  to  a  high  place.  The  ode  entitled  The  Passions  is  fre- 
quently quoted;  and  many  of  the  less  popular  ones,  as  that 
addressed  to  Fear  (231),  to  Pity,  to  Simplicity,  and  that  On  the 
Poetical  Character,  contain  happy  strokes,  sometimes  expressed  in 
wonderfully  laconic  language,  and  in  vivid  portraiture.  Some  of 
the  smaller  and  less  ambitious  lyrics,  as  the  Verses  to  the  Memory  oj 
Thomson,  the  Dirge  in  Cymbeline,  and  the  exquisite  verses  How  Sleep 
the  Brave,  are  destined  to  a  more  enduring  fame.  All  the  qualities 
of  Collins's  finest  thought  and  expression  will  be  found  united  in 
the  lovely  little  Ode  to  Evening,  consisting  merely  of  a  few  stanzas 
in  blank  verse,  but  so  subtly  harmonized  that  we  may  read  them 
without  observing  the  absence  of  rhyme. 

Thomas  Gray  (1716-1771),  a  man  of  varied  acquirements,  whose 
life  was  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  letters,  was  greater  than  any 
former  exclusively  lyric  poet  of  England.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion at  Eton,  and  afterwards  settled  in  learned  retirement  at  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  became  Professor  of  History  in  1768.  He 
acquired  a  poetical  reputation  through  his  beautiful  Ode  on  a 
Distant  Prospect  of  Eton  College  (234),  published  in  1747.  This  was 
followed,  at  intervals,  by  the  Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Church- 
yard (233),  the  Pindaric  Odes,  and  other  brilliant  productions.  His 
industry  was  untiring,  and  his  learning  undoubtedly  great;  for 
he  pushed  his  researches  far  beyond  the  usual  limits  of  ancient 
classical  philology,  and  was  deeply  versed  in  the  romance  litera- 
ture of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  modern  French  and  Italian,  and  had 
studied  the  then  almost  unknown  departments  of  Scandinavian  and 
Celtic  poetry.  His  finest  lyric  compositions  are  the  Odes  entitled 
The  Bard,  that  on  the  Progress  of  Poesy  (235),  the  Installation  Ode 
on  the  Duke  of  Grafton's  election  to  the  Chancellorship  of  the 
University,  and  the  short  but  truly  noble  Ode  to  Adversity.  The 
Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Church-yard  is  a  masterpiece  from  begin- 
ning to  end.  The  thoughts  indeed  are  obvious  enough,  but  the 
dignity  with  which  they  are  expressed,  the  range  of  allusion  and 
description  with  which  they  are  illustrated,  and  the  finished  grace 
of  the  language  and  versification  in  which  they  are  embodied,  give 
to  this  work  somewhat  of  that  perfection  of  design  and  execution 
which  is  seen  in  an  antique  statue.  In  The  Bard,  starting  from  the 
picturesque  idea  of  a  Welsh  poet  and  patriot  contemplating  the 


280  AKEKSIDE,    WAR  TON,     GOLDSMITH. 

victorious  invasion  of  his  country  by  Edward  I.,  he  passes  in  review 
the  panorama  of  English  History,  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  six- 
teenth century.  In  the  odes  entitled  The  Fatal  Sisters  and  The 
Descent  of  Odin,  Gray  borrowed  his  materials  from  the  Scandinavian 
legends.  The  tone  of  the  Norse  poetry  is  perhaps  not  very  faith- 
fully reproduced  ;  but  these  early  attempts  to  revive  the  rude  and 
archaic  grandeur  of  the  Eddas  deserve  grateful  appreciation. 

Mark  Akenside  (1721-1770),  like  Arbuthnot  and  Smollett,  was 
a  physician  as  well  as  a  writer.  His  chief  work  is  the  philosophi- 
cal poem  entitled  The  Pleasures  of  the  Imagination  (232),  in  which 
he  seeks  to  investigate  and  illustrate  the  emotions  excited  by 
beautiful  objects  in  art,  and  nature.  The  philosophical  merit  of 
his  theories,  indeed,  is  very  often  small,  but  the  beauty  of  the 
imagery  and  language  will  ever  secure  for  this  thoughtful  work  the 
admiration  of  those  readers  who  can  content  themselves  with  ele- 
vated thoughts,  without  looking  for  passages  of  strong  feeling. 
Few  English  poets  since  Milton  have  been  more  deeply  inspired 
by  the  spirit  of  classical  antiquity. 

The  two  brothers  Joseph  Wartoil  (1722-1800)  and  Thomas 
Warton  (1728-1790)  were  the  sons  of  a  Professor  of  Poetry  at 
Oxford,  and  both  brothers,  especially  the  younger,  deserve  a  place 
in  the  annals  of  our  literature.  Thomas,  who  was  poet-laureate 
from  1785  until  his  death,  rendered  great  service  to  letters  by  his 
History  of  English  Poetry.  That  work  unfortunately  comei  to  an 
abrupt  termination  just  as  the  author  is  about  to  enter  upon  the 
Elizabethan  era  ;  but  it  is  valuable  for  research  and  for  a  warm  tone 
of  appreciative  criticism.  The  best  of  his  own  original  relief  an 
sonnets,  breathing  a  tender  feeling,  and  showing  much  picturesque 
fancy. 

OLIVER    GOLDSMITH. 

"No  man  was  more  foolish  when  he  had  not  a  pen  In  his  hand,  or  MM 
when  he  had."— Samuel  Johnson. 

M  li.'  wa-  a  friend  to  virtue,  and  in  his  most  playful  pages  never  forgets  wb;  t 
is  dm-  to  it.  A  gentleness,  delicacy  and  purity  of  feelinir  distinguish  wli.iie.or  1  •.• 
wrote,  and  hear  a  cone-pondenre  to  the  j;eu  -rosily  of  a  disposition  which  knew  DO 
bounds  hut  his  last  guinea."—  Walter  Scott 

"His  elegant  and  enchanting  style  flowed  from  him  with  so  much  facility  that 
in  whole  quires  he  had  seldom  occasion  to  correct  or  alter  a  single  word."— Bishop 
Percy. 


OLIVER     GOLDSMITH.  281 

u  Goldsmith  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  of  English  writers.  He  touched  upon 
every  kind  of  excellence,  and  that  with  such  inimitable  grace,  that  where  he  failed 
of  originality  most,  he  had  ever  a  freshness  and  a  charm."— M rs.  S.  C.  Hall. 

"  There  was  in  his  character  much  to  love,  but  little  to  respect.  His  heart  wat 
soft  even  to  weakness  ;  he  was  so  generous  that  he  quite  forgot  to  be  just ;  he  for- 
gave injuries  so  readily  that  he  might  be  said  to  invite  them ;  and  was  so  liberal 
to  beggars  that  he  had  nothing  left  for  his  tailor  and  his  butcher.  He  was  vain, 
sensual,  frivolous,  profuse,  improvident."—?7.  B.  Macaulay. 

"Think  of  him  reckless,  thoughtless,  vain,  if  you  like— but  merciful,  gentle, 
generous,  full  of  love  and  pity.  His  humor  delighting  us  still ;  his  song  fresh  and 
beautiful  as  when  first  he  charmed  with  it ;  his  words  in  all  our  mouths ;  his  very 
weaknesses  beloved  and  familiar  ;  his  benevolent  spirit  seems  still  to  smile  on  us ; 
to  do  gentle  kindnesses ;  to  succor  with  sweet  charity ;  to  soothe,  caress,  and  for- 
give ;  to  plead  with  the  fortunate  for  the  unhappy  and  the  poor."—  W.  M.  Thackeray. 

Oliver  Goldsmith  (1728-1774)  is  the  most  charming  and 
versatile  writer  of  the  eighteenth  century.  We  place  him 
among  the  poets,  but  we  might  as  well  name  him  with  the 
novelists,  with  the  historians,  or  with  the  ethical  writers, 
for  he  belongs  to  each  of  these  classes,  and  in  each  of  them 
he  has  written  for  delighted  readers.  He  was  born  in  Ire- 
land, the  son  of  a  poor  curate  of  the  Established  Church. 
In  childhood  he  was  attacked  by  small-pox,  and  through 
life  he  bore  the  ugly  scars.  At  seventeen  years  of  age  he 
obtained  a  servant's  scholarship  at  the  University  of  Dublin. 
He  neglected  his  opportunities  for  study,  and  became  some- 
what notorious  for  his  irregularities,  his  disobedience  to 
authority,  his  improvidence  and  his  morbid  charity.  After 
leaving  the  university  he  tried  successively  to  enter  the  pro- 
fessions of  the  teacher,  the  clergyman,  the  lawyer,  and  the 
physician.  In  1755-6  he  traveled  on  foot  through  Holland, 
France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Italy.  Much  of  the 
way  he  journeyed  playing  his  flute  for  the  peasants,  in  order 
to  gain  a  supper  and  a  bed.  While  thus  wandering  in  the 
guise  of  a  beggar  he  sketched  the  plan  of  his  famous  poem, 
The  Traveller  (199).  In  1756  he  found  his  way  back  to 
England,  and  for  eight  years  struggled  against  starvation, 
sometimes  as  a  chemist's  clerk,  sometimes  as  an  usher  in 
boarding-schools,  sometimes  as  a  physician  among  the  most 


282  OLIVE  II     UO  I,  I) SMITH. 

squalid,  and  much  of  the  time  as  a  plodding  drudge  for  the 
booksellers.  His  literary  apprenticeship  was  passed  in  writing 
school-books,  tales  for  children,  prefaces,  indexes,  reviews  of 
books,  and  occasional  articles  for  the  magazines.  In  this 
period  of  obscure  drudgery  he  composed  the  Letters  from  a 
Citizen  of  the  World  (197),  giving  a  description  of  English 
life  and  manners  in  the  assumed  character  of  a  Chinese 
traveler;  a  Life  of  Beau  Nash  ;  and  a  short  and  gracefully 
narrated  History  of  England,  in  the  form  of  Letters  from  a 
Nobleman  to  his  Son.  The  publication  of  his  beautiful 
poem  of  the  Traveller  in  1764  was  the  beginning  of  his  un- 
interrupted literary  success.  His  writings  were  sought  by 
publishers  who  were  ready  to  pay  him  generous  prices. 
But  his  folly  and  improvidence  kept  him  plunged  in  debt. 
In  1768  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield  appeared,  that  masterpiece 
of  gentle  humor  and  delicate  tenderness ;  and  in  the  next 
year  his  comedy,  The  Good-natured  Man,  though  failing 
upon  the  stage,  brought  him  a  purse  of  five  hundred  pounds. 
Those  earnings  were  quickly  scattered,  and  Goldsmith  put 
himself  at  the  task-work  of  writing  a  History  of  Rome  for 
the  publishers.  Such  a  work,  hurriedly  written,  wa>.  of 
course,  wanting  in  research,  and  valueless  as  an  authority; 
but  it  displayed  the  author's  grace  of  style  and  vivacity  of 
narration.  In  1770  he  published  his  finest  poem,  The 
Deserted  Village  (200),  and  by  it  won  new  fame,  live 
editions  were  sold  at  once.  Three  years  after,  lie  wrote  bis 
comedy,  She  Stoops  to  Conquer,  one  of  the  gayest,  pleasattt- 
est,  and  most  amusing  pieces  that  the  English  stage  can 
boast. 

Goldsmith  was  now  one  of  the  popular  authors  of  his 
time.  His  society  was  courted  by  the  wits,  artists,  states- 
men and  writers  who  formed  a  brilliant  circle  round  John- 
son and  Reynolds;  and  he  became  a  member  of  the  famous 
Literary  Club.  His  unconquerable  improvidence,  however, 
still   kept  him  the  slave  of  booksellers,  who  obliged   him 


OLIVER     GOLDSMITH.  28S 

to  waste  his  exquisite  talent  on  works  for  which  he  neithei 
possessed  the  requisite  knowledge  nor  could  make  the 
necessary  researches.  Thus  he  wrote  the  History  of  Eng- 
land, the  History  of  Greece,  and  the  History  of  Animated 
Nature.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  deeply  mourned 
by  the  brilliant  circle  of  friends  to  whom  his  very  weak- 
nesses had  endeared  him,  and  followed  by  the  tears  and 
blessings  of  many  wretches  whom  his  inexhaustible  benevo- 
lence had  relieved. 

In  everything  Goldsmith  wrote,  prose  or  verse,  serious  or 
comic,  there  is  a  peculiar  delicacy  and  purity  of  sentiment. 
His  genius,  though  in  its  earlier  years  surrounded  by  squalid 
distress,  was  incapable  of  being  sullied  by  any  stain  of  vul- 
garity. No  quality  in  his  writings  is  more  striking  than  the 
union  of  grotesque  humor  with  pensive  tenderness.  While 
literature  lasts,  readers  will  linger  over  Goldsmith's  sketches 
of  the  scenery  and  natural  peculiarities  of  various  countries, 
and  over  the  details  in  his  picture  of  "sweet  Auburn." 

The  Vicar  of  Wakefield.  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield*  too, 
in  spite  of  the  absurdity  of  the  plot,  is  one  of  those  works 
that  the  world  will  not  let  die.  It  was  colored  with  the 
hues  of  childhood's  memory ;  and  the  central  figure  in  the 
group  of  shadows  from  the  past  that  came  to  cheer  the  poor 
London  author  in  his  lonely  garret,  was  the  image  of  his 

*  Dr.  Johnson  gives  the  following  account  of  his  first  knowledge  of  The  Vicar 
of  Wakejieid  :— 

"  I  received  one  morning  a  message  from  poor  Goldsmith  that  he  was  in  great 
distress,  and,  as  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  come  to  me,  begging  that  I  would  come 
to  him  as  soon  as  possible.  I  sent  him  a  guinea,  and  promised  to  come  to  him 
directly.  I  accordingly  went  as  soon  as  I  was  dressed,  and  found  that  his  landlady 
had  arrested  him  for  his  rent,  at  which  he  was  in  a  violent  passion.  I  perceived 
that  he  had  already  changed  my  guinea,  and  had  got  a  bottle  of  Madeira  and  a  glass 
before  him.  I  put  the  cork  into  the  bottle,  desired  he  would  be  calm,  and  began  to 
talk  to  him  of  the  means  by  which  he  might  be  extricated.  He  then  told  me  he 
had  a  novel  ready  for  the  press,  which  he  produced  to  me.  I  looked  into  it  and 
saw  its  merits  ;  told  the  landlady  I  should  soon  return ;  and,  having  gone  to  a  book- 
seller, sold  it  for  sixty  pounds.  I  brought  Goldsmith  the  money  and  he  discharged 
his  rent,  not  without  rating  his  landlady  in  a  high  tone  for  having  used  him  so 
ill"— BosweWs  Life  of  Johnson. 


284  OLIVER     GOLDSMITH. 

dead  father  :  "  For,"  says  John  Forster  in  his  life  of  Gold- 
smith, "they  who  have  loved,  laughed  and  wept  with  the 
man  in  black  of  the  Citizen  of  the  World,  the  Preacher  of 
The  Deserted  Village,  and  Doctor  Primrose  in  the  Vicar 
§f  Wakefield,  have  given  laughter,  love  and  tears  to  the 
Rev.  Charles  Goldsmith."  The  gentle  and  quiet  humor 
embodied  in  the  simple  Dr.  Primrose,  the  delicate  yet 
vigorous  contrasts  of  character  in  other  personages,  the 
purity,  cheerfulness,  and  gayety  which  envelop  all  the  scenes 
and  incidents,  insure  the  work  its  immortality. 

His  Comedies.  Goldsmith's  two  comedies  are  written  in 
two  different  methods,  the  Good-natured  Man  being  a 
comedy  of  character,  and  She  Stoops  to  Conquer,  a  comedy 
©f  intrigue.  The  merit  of  the  first  piece  chiefly  consists  in 
the  truly  laughable  personage  of  Croaker,  and  in  the  excel- 
lent scene  where  the  disguised  bailiffs  are  passed  off  on  Miss 
Richland  as  the  friends  of  Honeywood,  whose  house  and 
person  they  have  seized.  But  in  She  Stoops  to  Conquer  we 
have  a  choice  specimen  of  the  comedy  of  intrigue,  where 
the  interest  mainly  depends  upon  a  tissue  of  lively  and 
farcical  incidents.  The  best  proof  of  Goldsmith's  success  in 
this  drama  is  the  constancy  with  which  it  has  always  kept 
possession  of  the  stage.  Peals  of  laughter  ever  greet  the 
lively  bustle  of  its  scenes,  the  pleasant  absurdities  of  Young 
Marlow,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardcastle,  and  the  admirable  Tony 
Lumpkin. 

Among  Goldsmith's  minor  poems  Tlie  Haunch  of  Venison 
deserves  special  attention  on  account  of  its  easy  narrative 
and  its  accurate  sketching  of  commonplace  society.  In  the 
poem  Retaliation,  written  as  a  reply  to  taunting  epitaphs 
on  himself,  he  has  given  portraits  of  some  of  his  distin- 
guished literary  friends,  and  he  has  painted  them  with  a 
hand  at  once  refined  and  vigorous. 

For  further  readings  on  this  topic,  see  Irvine's  Oliitr  Goldsmith,— Forster'a 


WILLIAM     COWPER.  285 

Life  and  Adventures  of  Oliver  Goldsmith,  -Walter  Scott's  Life  of  Goldsmith,— N  A. 
Review,  Vol.  XLV.,  p.  91,— De  Quincey's  works,— Essays  on  the  Poets,  Vol.  IX.,— 
Macaulay's  Essays,  Vol.  VI. 

William  Cowper  (1731-1800)  is  eminently  the  poet  of  the 
domestic  affections,  and  the  exponent  of  that  strong  religious 
feeling  which,  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  began  to 
penetrate  and  modify  all  the  relations  of  social  life  (236,  240). 
From  his  early  childhood  he*  was  exceedingly  sensitive.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  six  years  of  age,  and  he  was  sent  to  one 
of  the  English  boarding-schools,  where  the  bullies  were  allowed  to 
abuse  the  younger  boys,  and  there  he  was  brutally  persecuted  for 
two  years.  For  seven  years  he  was  at  the  famous  Westminster 
School,  and  then  he  was  apprenticed  to  an  attorney.  By  the 
influence  of  his  friends  a  desirable  position  was  secured  for  him  in 
the  service  of  the  House  of  Lords ;  but  his  sensitive  nature  was  so 
terrified  at  the  thought  of  presenting  himself  for  a  formal  examina- 
tion, that  he  fell  into  despondency  and  attempted  suicide.  A  short 
confinement  in  an  asylum  restored  him  from  his  insanity ;  but  he 
was  so  shaken  by  the  attack  that  he  was  unfitted  for  active  life. 
Four  times  during  his  life  madness  assailed  him,  and  his  last  six 
years  were  continually  shrouded  in  its  pitiful  gloom.  Upon  his 
recovery  from  the  first  attack  he  retired  into  the  country,  and 
placed  himself  under  the  care  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Unwin,  a 
clergyman  in  Huntingdon.  Cowper's  virtues  and  accomplishments 
secured  him  the  good-will  of  the  family  circle,  and  especially  won 
the  tender  and  life-long  friendship  of  Mrs.  Unwin.  His  mind,  still 
smarting  under  its  affliction,  made  him  the  victim  of  religious 
melancholy,  and  tormented  him  with  despair  concerning  the  salva- 
tion of  his  soul.  As  a  pastime  and  as  a  means  of  escaping  from 
his  melancholy,  he  wrote  a  few  hymns  for  Newton's  collection,  and 
cultivated  his  literary  taste.  The  force,  grace,  and  originality  of 
his  compositions  soon  acquired  popularity,  and  he  pursued  as  a 
profession  what  he  had  at  first  taken  up  as  a  diversion.  His 
poetical  talent  did  not  flower  until  late.  He  was  more  than  fifty 
years  of  age  when  his  first  volume  was  published.  It  contained 
long  didactic  and  satiric  poems  entitled  Table  Talk,  The  Progress 
of  Error,  Truth,  Expostulation,  Hope,  Charity,  Conversation,  and 
Retirement.  The  sale  of  his  book  was  small.  His  sentiments, 
though  sometimes  genial,  and  always  delicate,  were  too  grave  and 


286  COWPEE,     MACPHERSON. 

desponding  to  receive  the  popular  applause.  At  about  this  time 
Lady  Austen  formed  his  acquaintance,  and  urged  him  to  trim  his 
pen  for  gayer  verse.  At  her  suggestion  the  famous  ballad  of  John 
Gilpin  was  written.  She  playfully  gave  him  "  The  Sofa "  as  a 
theme,  and  thus  started  him  in  the  composition  of  that  humorous, 
graceful,  reflective  poem,  The  Task  (238).  His  most  laborious,  but 
least  successful  undertaking,  was  the  translation  of  the  Iliad  into 
English  blank  verse.  He  justly  considered  that  the  neat  and  artificial 
style  of  Pope  had  done  scant  justice  to  the  father  of  Greek  poetry; 
but  in  endeavoring  to  give  greater  force  and  vigor  to  his  own  ver- 
sion, he  fell  into  a  fault  of  which  Pope  could  not  be  accused,  and 
made  his  translation  too  harsh  and  rugged,  without  approaching 
one  whit  nearer  to  the  true  character  of  the  original. 

The  longer  and  more  important  poems  of  Cowper  are  written 
in  an  original  manner.  They  are  a  union  of  reflection,  satire, 
description  and  moral  declamation.  Some  of  them  are  in  blank 
verse,  while  in  others  he  employed  rhyme.  His  aim  was  to  keep 
up  a  natural  and  colloquial  style.  His  satirical  sketches  of  the 
follies  and  absurdities  of  manners,  and  his  indignant  denunciations 
of  national  offences  against  piety  and  morality,  are  equally  remark- 
able, in  the  one  case,  for  sharpness  and  humor,  and  in  the  other 
for  loftiness  of  sentiment. 

Cowper's  Letter*  are  famous.  They  show  the  poet  in  his  most 
amiable  light  and  invest  his  character  with  a  halo  of  goodness. 
Their  style  is  free  from  all  affectation.  They  should  bo  studied 
carefully  by  all  who  would  excel  in  this  most  elegant  of  accom- 
plishments. Southey  pronounces  him  the  "  best  of  English  letter- 
writers." 

Macpherson,  Chatterton,  and  Ireland.  The  latter  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  was  remarkable  for  several  nearly  contempo- 
raneous attempts  at  literary  imposture — the  poetical  forgeries  of 
Macpherson,  Chatterton,  and  Ireland.  James  Macpherson  (1738- 
1796),  originally  a  country  schoolmaster,  and  afterwards  in  the 
service  of  the  English  and  East  India  governments,  professed  to 
have  accumulated,  in  his  travels  through  the  Highlands  <>f  Scot- 
land, a  mass  of  fragments  of  ancient  poetry  composed  in  the  Gaelic 
or  Erse  dialect,  common  to  that  country  and  Ireland.  The  transla- 
tions, which  Macpherson  claimed  to  have  made  from  the  originals, 


MACPHERSON,      CHATTERTON.  287 

were  composed  in  pompous  and  declamatory  prose  (243)-  Upon 
their  publication  a  controversy  arose  as  to  their  authenticity.  The 
Highlanders,  eager  for  the  honor  of  their  country,  declared  for  the 
genuineness  of  the  literature,  and  said  that  the  name  of  Ossian, 
and  the  incidents  of  the  stories,  had  been  told  in  the  familiar 
traditions  of  the  Highlands.  It  was  also  urged  in  their  support 
that  Celtic  traditions  in  Ireland  strikingly  resembled  the  sentiments 
of  Ossian.  The  English  critics,  on  the  other  hand,  doubted  the 
antiquity  of  the  papers,  and  demanded  a  view  of  the  original 
poems.  This  Macpherson  refused  to  grant,  on  the  ground  that 
he  had  been  treated  with  indignity  by  those  who  scorned  his  pre- 
tensions. They  then  cited  against  him  his  plagiarisms  from  the 
whole  range  ot  literature, — from  Homer,  the  Bible,  Shakespeare, 
Milton,  and  even  from  Thomson.  But  in  spite  of  opposition  and 
ridicule  the  papers  were  translated  into  the  leading  languages  of 
Europe,  and  commanded  the  wondering  attention  of  Goethe,  Hume, 
and  many  other  distinguished  men  of  letters.  In  Germany  the 
admiration  of  these  productions  has  not  subsided.  The  convic- 
tion lingers  there,  that  they  were  the  work  of  some  grand  old  epic 
poet.  Macpherson  died  without  disclosing  the  originals  of  his 
professed  discoveries,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

The  annals  of  literature  hardly  present  a  more  extraordinary 
example  of  precocious  genius  than  that  of  Thomas  Chatterton 
(1752-1770),  nor  an  instance  of  a  career  more  brief  and  melancholy 
(244)-  He  was  born  in  1752,  the  son  of  a  poor  sexton  and  parish 
schoolmaster  at  Bristol  ;  and  he  died,  by  suicide,  before  he  had 
completed  his  eighteenth  year.  At  eleven  years  of  age  he  produced 
verses  which  will  bear  comparison  with  the  early  poems  of  any 
author ;  and  though  he  had  received  little  education  beyond  that 
of  a  parish  school,  he  conceived  the  project  of  deceiving  all  the 
scholars  of  his  age. 

In  the  muniment  room  of  a  church  at  Bristol  there  was  a  chest 
called  Canynge's  coffer.  (Canynge  was  a  rich  citizen  who  lived  in 
.he  reign  of  Edward  IV.)  The  coffer  contained  charters  and  other 
documents  connected  with  Canynge?s  gifts  to  the  church.  The 
yonnb  poet  familiarized  himself  with  the  sight  of  these  antiquated 
writings,  and  determined  to  forge  papers  that  could  be  palmed  off 
upon  the  credulous.     These  he  produced  at   intervals,  generally 


288  IRELAND,      CRAB  HE. 

taking  advantage  of  some  topic  of  public  interest  to  contribute  to 
the  local  newspapers  or  to  his  acquaintances,  the  pretended  origi- 
nals, or  transcripts  of  pretended  originals,  having  some  relation  to 
the  subject.  Thus,  on  the  opening  of  a  new  bridge  over  the  Avon, 
he  produced  an  account  of  processions,  tournaments,  religious 
solemnities,  and  other  ceremonies  which  had  taken  place  on  the 
opening  of  the  old  bridge.  To  Mr.  Burguin,  a  pewterer  of  the 
town  who  had  a  taste  for  heraldry,  he  gave  a  pedigree  reaching 
back  to  William  the  Conqueror.  Horace  Walpole  was  then  writing 
his  anecdotes  of  British  Painters,  and  Chatterton  furnished  him 
with  a  long  list  of  mediaeval  artists  who  had  nourished  in  Bristol. 
Besides  these  documents  he  claimed  to  have  discovered  old  poems 
in  the  chest.  They  are  of  great  variety  and  unquestionable  merit; 
and  though  modern  criticism  will  instantly  detect  in  them  the  most 
glaring  marks  of  forgery,  yet  their  brilliancy  and  their  number 
were  enough  to  deceive  many  learned  scholars  in  an  age  when 
accurate  antiquarian  knowledge  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  much  rarer 
than  at  present.  In  his  eagerness  to  incrust  his  diction  with  the 
rust  of  antiquity,  he  overlays  his  words  with  such  an  accumulation 
of  consonants  as  belongs  to  the  orthography  of  no  age  of  our  lan- 
guage. He  has  also,  as  was  inevitable,  sometimes  made  a  slip  in 
the  use  of  an  old  word,  as  when  he  borrowed  the  expression  mortmal 
found  in  Chaucer's  description  of  the  Cook,  he  employed  it  to  signify, 
not  a  disease,  the  gangrene,  but  a  dish.  Burning  with  pride,  hope, 
and  literary  ambition,  the  unhappy  lad  betook  himself  to  London, 
where,  after  struggling  a  short  time  with  distress  and  almost  with 
starvation,  he  poisoned  himself  on  the  25th  of  August,  1770. 

William  Henry  Ireland  (1777-1835)  deserves  mention  only  on 
account  of  his  Shakespearean  forgeries,  imposed  upon  the  public 
while  he  was  yet  a  boy.  Their  success  was  due  entirely  to  his  skill 
in  imitating  old  handwriting,  and  to  the  credulousness  and  the 
stupidity  of  those  who  were  deceived  by  his  work.  He  was  soon 
compelled  to  acknowledge  his  guilt. 

George  Crabbe  (1754-1832).  Byron  speaks  of  Crabbe  as 
11  Nature's  sternest  painter,  yet  the  best."  He  was  born  in  the 
little  seaport  town  of  Aldborough  in  Suffolk,  where  his  father  was 
a  collector  of  customs;  and  after  a  dreamy  aud  studious  childhood, 
he  was   apprenticed   to  a  surgeon  and  apothecary.     Passionately 


GEORGE     CRABBE.  289 

fond  of  literature,  he  determined  to  seek  his  fortune  in  London,  carry- 
ing with  him  several  unfinished  poems.  After  many  disappointments 
he  found  himself  reduced  to  despair;  when  he  addressed  a  manly 
and  affecting  letter  to  Edmund  Burke,  who  immediately  admitted 
him  to  his  house  and  his  friendship.  From  this  time  Crabbe's  for- 
tune changed ;  he  was  assisted,  both  with  money  and  advice,  in 
bringing  out  his  poem  of  The  Library,  and  was  induced  to  enter  the 
Church.  He  became  chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Rutland  ;  but  after 
marriage  with  a  youug  lady  to  whom  he  had  been  long  attached, 
he  changed  his  position  for  the  humbler  but  more  independent  life 
of  a  parish  priest,  and  in  this  occupation  he  continued  until  his 
death. 

It  was  not  until  the  appearance  of  The  Village,  in  1783,  that 
Crabbe  struck  out  that  path  in  which  he  had  neither  predecessor 
nor  rival.  The  success  of  this  poem  was  great,  for  it  was  the  first 
attempt  to  paint  the  manners  and  existence  of  the  laboring  class, 
without  dressing  them  up  in  the  artificial  colors  of  fiction.  In  his 
next  work,  The  Parish  Register  (246),  the  public  saw  the  gradual 
ripening  of  his  vigorous  and  original  genius ;  and  this  was  followed, 
at  comparatively  short  intervals,  by  The  Borough,  Tales  in  Verse, 
and  Tales  of  the  Hall.  These,  with  the  striking  but  painful  poems, 
written  in  a  different  measure,  entitled  Sir  Eustace  Grey  and  The 
Hall  of  Justice,  make  up  Crabbe's  large  and  valuable  contribution 
to  the  poetical  literature  of  his  country.  Almost  all  these  works 
are  constructed  upon  a  peculiar  and  generally  similar  plan.  Crabbe 
starts  with  some  description,  as  of  the  Village,  the  Parish  Church, 
the  Borough,  from  which  he  naturally  proceeds  to  deduce  a  series 
of  separate  episodes,  usually  of  middle  and  humble  life,  appro- 
priate to  the  leading  idea.  Thus  in  The  Parish  Register  we  have 
the  most  remarkable  births,  marriages,  and  deaths  that  are  sup- 
posed to  take  place  in  a  year  amid  a  rural  population;  in  The 
Borough  (245)  we  have  the  lives  and  adventures  of  the  most  promi- 
nent characters  that  figure  on  the  narrow  stage  of  a  small  provincial 
town.  With  the  exception  of  Sir  Eustace  Grey  and  The  Hall  of 
Justice,  which  are  written  in  a  short-lined  stanza,  Crabbe's  poems 
are  in  heroic  verse.  The  contrast  is  strange  between  the  neat, 
Pope-like  regularity  of  the  metre,  and  the  deep  passion,  the  intense 
reality,  and  the  quaint  humor  of  the  scenes  displayed.  His  de- 
scriptions of  nature,  too,  are  marked  by  power  of  interesting  a 
13 


290  HANNAH     MORE. 

leader  in  the  most  unattractive  features  of  the  external  world,  by 
the  sheer  force  of  truth  and  exactness.  The  village-tyrant,  the 
poacher,  the  smuggler,  the  miserly  old  maid,  the  pauper,  and 
the  criminal,  are  drawn  with  the  same  vivid  force  that  paints  the 
squalid  streets  of  the  fishing-town,  or  the  fen,  the  quay,  and  the  heath. 

Hannah  More.  The  movement  in  the  direction  of  greater  free- 
dom can  be  detected  in  many  minor  poets  of  the  time;  and  its 
influence  is  nowhere  more  noticeable  than  in  the  fact  that,  towards 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  women  entered  the  walks  of 
literature.  Hannah  More  (1745-1833)  was  the  most  influential 
writer  of  her  sex.  Johnson  considered  her  the  best  of  "  female 
versifiers,"  but  her  prose  is  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  her  verse.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  a  schoolmaster  in  Gloucestershire.  Her  first 
works  were  dramatic.  The  Search  after  Happiness,  written  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  The  Inflexible  Captive,  written  a  year  later,  and  a 
few  of  her  tales,  had  given  her  so  good  a  name  that  when  she 
removed  to  London,  at  about  her  twenty-eighth  year,  she  was 
admitted  to  the  literary  circle  of  Johnson  and  Burke.  A  volume 
of  her  Poems  was  published  in  1786,  portions  of  which  were  termed 
by  Johnson  a  great  performance.  Becoming  weary  of  the  life  of 
London,  she  removed  to  Bristol.  There  her  pen  was  busy, — prose 
and  poetry  flowing  from  it  constantly.  Her  tales  directed  against 
Jacobins  and  Levellers  reached  a  circulation  of  a  million  copies. 
Her  best  known  works  are— Thoughts  on  the  Manners  of  the  Great, 
1788;  On  Female  Education,  1799;  Calebs  in  Search  of  a  Wife,  1809; 
and  Practical  Piety,  1811.  "She  did,  perhaps,  as  much  real  good 
in  her  generation  as  any  woman  that  ever  held  a  pen." 

Mrs.  More's*  style  is  flowi.ig,  and  often  sparkles  with  the  light 
of  a  pleasant  humor.  Her  later  works  are  of  a  more  sombre  cast, 
from  the  deeper  impressions  which  religion  seemed  to  be  making 
upon  her.  Ccdebs  is  perhaps  the  chief  of  her  works — a  fiction  of 
much  beauty  in  style,  with  a  mixture  of  quiet  irony;  the  plot  is 
well  evolved,  but  the  characters  are  too  few,  and  the  incidents  too 
tame,  to  make  it  in  the  present  day  a  readable  book.  It  has  been 
called  a  "dramatic  sermon." 

•  H.'umah  More,  though  never  married,  was  in  her  own  day,  and  still  is  named 
Mrs.  More.  This  title  she  acquired,  in  her  dignified  years,  according  to  a  conr- 
teous  custom  then  observed  in  England. 


SHERIDAN,      BURN'S.  291 

Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan.  A  comic  drama  appeared  con- 
temporaneously with  the  more  romantic  poetry.  With  a  single 
exception  its  writers  were  men  who  failed  of  an  enduring  fame. 
Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan  (1751-1816)  was  a  genius  of  versatile 
and  brilliant  powers.  He  was  famous  as  a  Parliamentary  orator ; 
but  his  highest  fame  was  achieved  as  a  dramatist.  Byron  says  that 
"  the  intellectual  reputation  of  Sheridan  was  truly  enviable,  that  he 
had  made  the  best  speech — that  on  the  Begums  of  Oude, — written 
the  two  best  comedies,  The  Rivals  and  TJie  School  for  Scandal  (253), 
the  best  opera,  The  Duenna,  and  the  best  farce,  The  Critic"  His 
career  was  extravagant  and  imprudent.  The  ingenious  shifts  by 
which  he  endeavored  to  stave  off  his  embarrassments,  and  the  jokes 
with  which  he  disarmed  even  his  angriest  creditors,  would  furnish 
materials  for  a  most  amusing  jest-book.  His  repartees  and  witti- 
cisms made  him  the  darling  of  society.  He  died  in  poverty,  but 
was  buried  with  princely  pomp. 

ROBERT    BURNS. 


**  Burns  is  by  far  the  greatest  poet  that  ever  sprang  from  the  bosom  of  the 
people  and  lived  and  died  in  an  humble  condition."-  Professor  Wilson. 

"  O  he  was  a  good-looking  fine  fellow  !— he  was  that ;  rather  black  an'  ill- 
colored  ;  but  he  couldna  help  that,  ye  ken.  He  was  a  strong,  manly-looking  chap  ; 
nane  o'  your  ekilpit  milk-and-water  dandies :  but  a  sterling,  substantial  fellow,  who 
wadna  hae  feared  the  deil  suppose  he  had  met  him.  An'  then  siccan  an  ee  he  had  i " 
—Memoir  of  Burns. 

"  His  person  was  strong  and  robust,  his  manners  rustic,  not  clownish  ;  a  sort  of 
dignified  plainness  and  simplicity  which  received  part  of  its  effect  perhaps  from 

one's  knowledge  of  his  extraordinary  talents I  think  his  countenance 

was  more  massive  than  it  looks  in  any  of  the  portraits There  was  a 

strong  expression  of  sense  and  shrewdness  in  all  his  lineaments  ;  the  eye  alone, 
I  think,  indicated  the  poetical  temperament.  It  was  large  and  of  a  dark  cast,  and 
glowed  (I  say  literally  glowed)  when  he  spoke  with  feeling  or  interest.  I  never  saw 
such  another  eye  in  a  human  head,  though  I  have  seen  the  most  distinguished  men 
in  my  time.  His  conversation  expressed  perfect  self-confidence  without  the  slight- 
est presumption.'"— 5fr  Walter  Scott. 

"  None  but  the  most  narrow-minded  bigots  think  of  his  errors  and  frailties  but 
with  sympathy  and  indulgence  ;  none  but  the  blindest  enthusiasts  can  deny  their 
existence."— James  Hogg. 

"  He  has  in  all  his  compositions  great  force  of  conception,  and  great  spirit  and 
animation  in  its  expression.  He  has  taken  a  large  range  through  the  region  of 
Fancy,  and  naturalized  himself  in  all  her  climates."— Francis  Jeffrey. 


292  burns. 

"As  a  poet  Burns  stands  in  the  front  rank.  His  conceptions  are  all  original ; 
his  thoughts  are  now  and  weighty  ;  his  style  unborrowed  ;  and  he  owes  no  honor  to 
the  subjects  which  his  muse  selected,  for  they  are  ordinary,  and  such  as  would  have 
tempted  no  poet,  save  himself,  to  sing  about."— Allan  Cunningham. 


The  greatest  poet  that  Scotland  has  produced  is  Robert 
Burns  (1759-1796)  (247-251).  He  was  born  at  the  hamlet 
of  Alloway  in  Ayrshire,  and  was  the  son  of  a  peasant  farmer 
of  the  humblest  class.  Popular  education  at  that  period 
was  diffused  in  Scotland  more  generally  than  in  any  other 
country  of  Europe;  and  Burns  received  the  training  of  the 
common  school.  Impelled  by  his  eagerness  for  knowledge, 
he  early  became  acquainted  with  some  of  the  masterpieces 
of  English  literature.  In  this  way  he  acquired  the  pure 
diction  of  classical  English  authors,  and  was  able  to  use  it 
with  facility  when  he  took  up  the  poet's  pen.  The  Specta- 
tor, and  the  volumes  of  Pope,  Thomson,  Shenstone  and 
Sterne  were  on  the  shelf  in  his  cabin.  His  early  years  were 
spent  in  laboring  as  a  peasant  on  his  father's  farm.  In  the 
correspondence  of  his  later  years  he  says:  "This  kind  of 
life,  the  cheerless  gloom  of  a  hermit,  with  the  unceasing 
moil  of  a  galley-slave,  brought  me  to  my  sixteenth  year, 
when  love  made  me  a  poet."  His  "  first  performance,"  the 
song  of  Handsome  Nell,  revealed  to  him  a  talent  by  whose 
use  he  drove  away  some  of  the  gloom  of  his  youth.  When 
his  muse  would  not  help  him  in  writing  song,  she  gave  him 
expression  for  satire,  or  revery,  or  the  poetic  epistle.  Until 
his  twenty-eighth  year  he  continued  his  weary  struggle 
against  poverty.  He  was  driven  from  one  farm  to  another 
in  his  attempts  to  improve  his  condition.  At  last,  in 
despair,  he  determined  to  cross  the  ocean,  and  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  West  Indies.  In  order  to  raise  funds  for  the 
voyage  he  was  induced  to  publish  poems  which  had  won 
local  applause.  The  sale  of  the  volume  brought  him  twenty 
guineas.  Out  of  the  money  he  bought  his  passage,  and 
then  awaited  the  sailing  of  his  ship. 


BURNS.  293 

His  Summons  to  Edinburgh.  On  the  last  night  that  he 
expected  to  be  in  Scotland,  he  wrote  what,  he  said,  should 
be  the  last  song  he  would  ever  measure  in  Caledonia,— 
"  The  gloomy  night  is  gathering  fast."  But  the  clouds 
broke  with  the  dawn ;  for  a  letter  from  a  poetical  critic  gave 
him  encouragement  that  an  edition  of  his  poems  would  be 
received  with  favor  in  Edinburgh.  The  voyage  was  aban- 
doned. His  own  words  are:  "I  immediately  posted  to 
Edinburgh,  without  a  single  acquaintance  or  letters  of 
introduction.  The  baneful  star  which  had  so  long  shed 
its  blasting  influence  upon  my  zenith,  for  once  made  a 
revolution  to  the  nadir."  But  he  needed  no  letters  of 
introduction.  His  songs  had  gone  before  him.  The  lit- 
erary and  the  gay- of  the  capital  welcomed  the  singer.  The 
new  edition  of  his  poems  was  received  with  an  enthusiasm 
that  made  "The  Ayrshire  Ploughman"  the  lion  of  the 
town.*  This  success  put  money  in  his  purse ;  and  he  was 
able  to  gratify  his  desire  to  see  the  celebrated  scenery  and 
the  places  of  historical  interest  in  his  native  country.  After 
spending  the  summer  of  1787  in  travel,  he  returned  to 
Edinburgh  with  the  reasonable  expectation  of  securing  from 
those  whose  praises  and  friendship  he  had  won,  such  em- 
ployment as  would  enable  him  to  devote  some  of  his  time 
to  his  muse.     While  waiting  for  their  help  he  joined  in  their 


*  "It  needs  no  effort  of  the  imagination  to  conceive  what  the  sensations  of  an 
isolated  set  of  scholars  (almost  all  either  clergymen  or  professors)  must  have  been 
in  the  presence  of  this  big-boned,  black-browed,  brawny  stranger,  with  his  great 
flashing  eyes,  who,  having  forced  his  way  among  them  from  the  plough-tail,  at  a 
single  stride,  manifested  in  the  whole  strain  of  his  bearing  and  conversation,  a 
most  thorough  conviction  that  in  the  society  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  his  nation, 
he  was  exactly  where  he  was  entitled  to  be ;  hardly  deigned  to  flatter  them  by 
exhibiting  even  an  occasional  symptom  of  being  flattered  by  their  notice  ;  by  turns 
calmly  measured  himself  against  the  most  cultivated  understandings  of  his  time,  in 
discussion  ;  overpowered  the  bon  mots  of  the  most  celebrated  convivialists  by  broad 
floods  of  merriment,  impregnated  with  all  the  burning  life  of  genius ;  astounded 
bosoms  habitually  enveloped  in  the  thrice-piled  folds  of  social  reserve,  by  com- 
pelling them  to  tremble— nay,  to  tremble  visibly— beneath  the  fearless  touch  of 
natural  pathos." — Lockhart. 


294  BURNS. 

convivial  revelries.  His  social  nature  led  him  into  intemper- 
ance. When  his  money  was  gone,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  find  support,  a  place  was  given  him  as  a  gauger  of  liquors 
in  his  old  district.  He  rented  a  farm  and  lived  upon  a 
meagre  income.  Now  his  spirit  was  buoyant  and  gleeful, 
now  despondent.  His  strong  constitution,  undermined  by 
excesses,  soon  broke  down,  and  the  poet  died  at  Dumfries, 
in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

His  Poems.  The  highest  poetical  qualities — tenderness 
the  most  exquisite,  humor  the  broadest  and  most  refined,  the 
most  delicate  perception  of  natural  beauty,  the  highest 
finish  and  the  easiest  negligence  of  style,  are  found  in  the 
writings  of  Burns.  They  are  chiefly  lyrics  of  inimitable 
charm;  but  he  has  also  written  narrative  and  satire.  The 
variety  of  his  poetic  talent  is  best  displayed  in  Tarn 
QfShanter.  In  no  other  poem  of  the  same  length  can  there 
be  found  a  blending  of  so  much  brilliant  description,  touch- 
ing pathos,  and  quaint,  sly  humor;  nor  is  there  elsewhere 
in  our  literature  such  a  combination  of  the  terrific  and  the 
ludicrous.  Another  inimitable  poem,  half-narrative,  but 
set  thick  with  glorious  songs,  is  the  Jolly  Beggars :  careless 
vagabond  jollity,  roaring  mirth  and  gipsy  merriment,  have 
never  been  better  expressed.  In  his  Address  to  the  DeHl, 
Death  and  Dr.  Hornbook,  The  Twa  Dogs,  and  the  dialogue 
between  the  Old  and  New  Bridges  of  Ayr,  Burns  gives  us 
humorous  and  picturesque  description  with  reflections  and 
thoughtful  moralizing  upon  life  and  society.  In  the  poem 
descriptive  of  rustic  fortune-telling  on  Halloween,  in  the 
Vision  of  Liberty,  where  Burns  gives  such  a  sublime  picture 
of  his  own  early  aspiratious,  in  the  unequaled  sorrow  that 
breathes  through  the  Lament  for  Glencaim.  in  Scotch  Drink, 
the  Haggis,  the  epistle's  to  Captain  (Irose  and  Matthew 
Henderson,  in  the  exquisite  description  of  the  death  of  the 
old  ewe  Mailie,  and  the  poet's  address  to  his  old  mare,  we 


burns.  295 

find  the  same  mixture  of  pathos  and  humor;  that  truest 
pathos  which  finds  its  materials  in  the  common,  every-day 
objects  of  life,  and  that  truest  humor  which  is  allied  to  the 
deepest  feeling.  The  famous  lines  On  Turning  up  a  Mouse's 
Nest  with  the  Plough,  and  on  destroying  in  the  same  way  a 
Mountain  Daisy,  will  ever  remain  among  the  gems  of  poetry. 
The  Dialogue  between  the  Twa  Dogs  is  an  elaborate  com- 
parison of  the  relative  degrees  of  virtue  and  hapjnness 
granted  to  the  rich  and  the  poor.  His  description  of  the 
joys  and  consolations  of  the  poor  man's  lot  is  perhaps  even 
more  beautiful  in  this  poem  than  in  the  more  generally 
popular  Cotter's  Saturday  Night  (251).  Certainly  there 
has  never  been  a  tribute  paid  to  the  virtues  of  the  poor, 
nobler  than  has  been  given  by  Burns  in  these  two  poems. 

Those  of  Burns's  songs  that  are  written  in  pure  English, 
in  some  instances  have  a  pretentious  air.  But  there  is  no 
affectation  in  his  verse  when  it  flows  in  the  rhythm  of  his 
native  dialect.  The  list  of  subjects  adapted  to  the  purpose 
of  the  song-writer  is  always  very  limited — love,  patriotism, 
and  pleasure,  constitute  The  whole.  In  the  song  Ae  Fond 
Kiss  and  then  We  Part  is  concentrated  the  essence  of  a 
thousand  love-poems ;  the  heroic  outbreak  of  patriotism  in 
Scots  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace  bled  is  a  lyric  of  most  stirring 
force ;  and  in  those  of  a  calmer  and  more  lamenting  char- 
acter, as  Ye  Banks  and  Braes,  there  is  the  union  of  per- 
sonal sentiment  with  the  complete  assimilation  of  the  poet's 
mind  to  the  loveliness  of  external  nature. 

THE   LITERATURE   OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

In  reviewing  the  English  literature  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
student  will  be  reminded  that  it  contains  the  most  powerful  satire 
and  the  most  elegant  light  essays  that  have  been  produced.  In  it 
the  first  great  works  of  fiction,  the  first  distinctively  pronounced 
skepticism,  the  first  carefully  written  histories,  are  found  coming 


296  THE     EIGHTEENTH     CENTURY. 

from  the  pens  of  Englishmen.  In  it,  too,  our  poetry  of  the  fire- 
side was  first  sung. 

The  literature  of  the  century  may  be  divided  into  three  eras,  and 
they  are  distinctly  marked  :  I.  The  Augustan  Age ;  so  it  was  called 
by  the  men  of  the  next  generation,  who  felt  that  in  it  English 
literature  had  reached  such  paramount  excellence  as  the  literature 
of  Rome  attained  in  the  age  of  Augustus.  It  closes  with  the  reign 
of  George  I.  The  attitude  of  the  government  towards  literary  men 
was  somewhat  changed  at  the  accession  of  George  II.;  a  few  writers 
of  note  appeared  at  that  time,  and  at  about  that  time  some  of  the 
bright  stars  of  the  Augustan  galaxy  disappeared. — II.  The  Reign 
of  George  II.  (1727-1760).  It  was  not  illumined  by  such  brilliant 
men  as  Newton  and  Addison.  There  was  less  of  elegance,  but 
there  was  a  gain  in  purpose.  There  was  more  earnest  questioning 
than  in  the  former  age.  Men  were  no  longer  satisfied  with  attack- 
ing the  advocates  of  principles,  they  attacked  the  principles  them- 
selves. Hume  published  his  philosophical  essays,  startled  his 
readers  by  the  audacity  of  his  questioning,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  study  of  German  philosophy  and  skepticism.  His  example  led 
the  thinkers  of  a  later  generation  to  study  Kant  and  to  recognize 
German  thought  and  literature.  He  also  alarmed  the  theologians, 
so  that  they  took  up  weapons  of  defence,  and  fought  for  the  honor 
of  English  religious  opinions,  and  for  the  sacredness  of  the  Scrip- 
ture record.  A  reaction  from  this  boldly  pronounced  skepticism 
called  forth  earnest  reformers.  They  demanded  practical  as  well 
as  theoretical  deference  to  Christ's  teachings.  In  sermon  and  trea- 
tise and  song,  the  Wesleys  and  Whitetield  and  Watts  charmed  the 
saintly,  and  terrified  the  sinful.  They  created  a  demand  for  simple, 
fervent  religious  literature.  A  progressive  seriousness  shows  itself 
in  the  essays  that  would  rival  the  glory  of  the  Spectator,  in  the 
philosophy  that  would  secure  firm  foundation  for  the  religious 
faith  of  the  intellectual  man,  and,  where  it  would  be  least  expected, 
even  in  the  poetry  that  is  imitative  of  Pope. — HE.  The  Reign  of 
George  III.  (1760-1820).  Here  we  find  a  poetry  simpler  than  in 
either  of  the  preceding  generations.  The  song  gave  thrilling 
and  laughing  echoes.  The  imagination  was  revived,  and  poetic 
life  was  healthful.  Philosophy  turned  the  seriousness  to  practical 
account. 

The  century  of  literature  under  consideration  was  superficial 


THE     EIGHTEENTH     CENTURY.  297 

in  its  thinking,  and  held  itself  in  high  esteem.*  But  it  had  a 
record  to  be  pleased  with  ;  for  it  was  opening  new  lines  of  literary- 
work,  and  was  producing  earnest  and  original  thinkers. 

That  century  was  the  formative  period  of  English  prose  style. 
It  developed  two  distinct  modes  of  literary  expression.  The  first 
in  order  of  time  and  in  excellence  is  the  style  approaching  the 
diction  and  idioms  of  elegant  conversation.  Addison  is  its  best 
representative.  The  second  style  seeks  harmonies  of  souud,  avoids 
elliptical  idioms,  is  scholastic,  and  is  based  upon  the  idea  that 
there  must  be  more  dignity  in  writing  than  in  the  best  speaking. 
Johnson  is  its  exponent  and  champion.  The  former  style  is  Eng- 
lish ;  the  latter  is  Latinic.  They  are  both  influencing  the  writing  of 
our  own  time;  but  the  simpler  method  commands  the  higher 
approval. 

*  The  poor  eighteenth  century  was  critical,  negative,  and  unpoetic.  ...  It 
was  one  of  those  seasons  of  comparative  diminution  of  the  general  vital  energy  of 
our  species."— MassorCs  Essays,  p.  350. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

The  Dawn  of  Romantic  Poetry, 

1.  Matthew  Greene,  James  Beattie,  Robert  Blair, 

2.  James  Thomson, 

3.  William  Collins. 

4.  Thomas  Gray, 

5.  Mark  Akenside, 

6.  Joseph  and  Thomas  Warton, 

7.  Oliver  Goldsmith. 

a.  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield, 

b.  His  Comedies. 

8.  William  Cowper. 

6.  3IacpJierson,  Chatterton,  and  Ireland. 

10.  George  Crabbe. 

11.  Hannah  More. 

12.  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan. 
IS.  Robert  Bums. 

a.  His  Summons  to  Edinburgh, 

b.  His  Poems. 

14.  The  Literature  of  the  Eighteenth  Century, 


si 

|  i! 

r-    w    <*> 


*-  ^ 


THE  ARTIFICIAL   POETS   f  Alexandeb  p°M, 

o/  ^  first  half  of  the       \  JoHN  Gay' 

Matthew  Priob, 


Eighteenth  Century. 


PROSE  WRITERS 

of  the  first  half  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century. 


THE  FOIST 

GREAT  NOVELISTS. 


THE  FIRST 

GREAT  HISTORIANS. 


ETHICAL,  POLITICAL, 

AND 

THEOLOGICAL  WRITERS 

of  tlie  latter  half  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century. 


THK  DAWN  OF 

ROMANTIC   POETRY. 


I  Edward  Young. 

f  Joseph  Addison, 

Richard  Steele, 
I  Jonathan  Swift, 
\  John  Arbuthnot, 

Henry  St.  John,  Viscount  Bolingbroke 

George  Berkeley, 

Mary  Wortley  Montagu. 

Daniel  Defoe, 

Samuel  Richardson, 

Henry  Fielding, 
I  Tobias  George  Smollett, 
L  Laurence  Sterne. 

r  David  Hume, 

\  William  Robertson, 

[  Edward  Gibbon. 

f  Samuel  Johnson, 

Edmund  Burke, 

Adam  Smith, 

Sm  William  Blackstone, 
{  William  Paley. 

James  Thomson, 

WnxiAM  Collins, 

Mark  Akenside, 

William  Shenstonm, 

Joseph  Wakton, 

Thomas  Warton, 

[Oliver  Goldsmith], 

William  Cowper, 

Jaim's  McPhrrson, 
Thomas  Chattorton 
William  Henry  Ireland 

Qbobgb  Crabbe, 

[Hannah  More], 

[Kk'IMKH    BSINBXtt    SlHKll)A.N.] 


ROBERT    BURNS. 


The  Literary 
Impostort. 


CHAPTHH  XXIV. 

WALTER    SCOTT. 

M  Blessings  and  prayers  in  nobler  retinue 
Than  sceptred  king  or  laureled  conqueror  knows, 
Follow  Mb  wondrous  potentate."— William  Wordsworth. 

THE  great  revolution  in  literary  taste  which  culminated 
in  the  poems  and  novels  of  Walter  Scott,  is  traceable 
to  the  labors  of  Bishop  Thomas  Percy  (1728-1811).  In 
1765  he  published  a  collection  of  old  ballads  under  the  title 
of  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry.  Many  of  these 
ballads  had  been  preserved  only  in  manuscript,  and  others 
had  been  printed  on  loose  sheets  in  the  rudest  manner  for 
circulation  among  the  lower  orders  of  people.  Many  authors 
before  him,  as,  for  instance,  Addison  and  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
had  expressed  the  admiration  which  cultivated  taste  must 
ever  feel  for  the  rude  charms  of  the  old  ballad-poets  ;  but 
Percy  was  the  first  who  undertook  a  systematic  and  general 
examination  of  the  neglected  treasures.  He  found,  in  col- 
lecting these  compositions,  that  the  majority  of  the  oldest 
and  most  interesting  were  distinctly  traceable  to  the  frontier 
region  between  England  and  Scotland  which  had  been  the 
scene  of  the  most  striking  incidents  of  predatory  warfare, 
such  as  those  recorded  in  the  noble  ballads  of  Chevy  Chase 
and  the  Battle  of  Otterbum.  Besides  a  very  large  number  of 
these  purely  heroic  ballads,  Percy  gave  specimens  of  songs 
and  lyrics  extending  down  to  a  comparatively  late  period  of 
English  history,  even  to  his  own  century.  But  the  chief 
interest  of  his  collection,  and  the  chief  service  he  rendered 


300  WALTER     SCOTT. 

to  literature  by  his  publication,  is  in  the  earlier  portion.  It 
is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
Reliques.  This  book  has  been  studied  with  the  utmost 
interest  by  each  succeeding  generation  of  English  poets, 
and  has  given  the  first  direction  to  the  youthful  genius  of 
some  of  our  most  illustrious  writers.  The  boyish  enthusiasm 
of  Walter  Scott  was  stirred  by  the  vivid  recitals  of  the  old 
Border  rhapsodists.  Percy's  volumes  *  gave  him  the  senti- 
ment that  culminated  in  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  and  in 
Waverley. 
A  genius  at  once  so  vigorous  and  versatile,  a  productive- 
ness so  magnificent  and  so  sustained  as  that  of 
B.  1771.]  Walter  Scott  (254,  263),  will  with  difficulty  be 
D.  1832.]  found,  though  we  ransack  the  realms  of  ancient 
and  modern  letters.  He  was  connected,  both 
by  the  father's  and  mother's  side,  with  several  of  those 
ancient,  historic  Border  families  whose  warlike  memories 
his  genius  was  destined  to  make  immortal.  In  consequence 
of  delicate  health  in  early  life  he  passed  much  of  his  time  at 
the  farm  of  his  grandfather  near  Kelso,  where  he  was  sur- 
rounded with  legends,  ruins,  and  historic  localities.  He  was 
afterwards  sent  to  the  High  School,  and  then  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh.  He  was  not  distinguished  as  a 
student ;  but  among  his  fellows  he  was  famous  for  his 
talent  in  telling  stories.  After  leaving  the  University,  he 
entered  the  profession  of  law.  It  had  little  charm  for  him. 
English,  German  and  Italian  authors  easily  won  him  away 
from  his  law-books.  The  direction  of  his  mind  was  towards 
the  poetical  and  antiquarian  works  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  but 
just  at  that  time  there  had  been  awakened  in  the  intellectual 
circles  of  Edinburgh  a  taste  for  German  literature.     Scott's 


*  "The  first  time  I  could  scrape  a  fow  shillings  together— which  were  not  com- 
mon occurrences  with  me — I  bought  unto  myself  a  eopy  of  these  beloved  volumes: 
nor  do  I  believe  I  ever  read  a  book  half  so  frequently,  or  with  half  the  rnthnriatm  " 
^Scott,  in  LockharC*  lift. 


WALTER     SCOTT.  301 

first  appearance  as  an  author  was  in  translations  from 
Burger.  Scott  was  now  residing  with  his  young  wife  at 
Lasswade.  He  formed  the  purpose  of  rescuing  from  oblivion 
the  large  stores  of  Border  ballads  still  current  among  the 
descendants  of  the  Liddesdale  and  Annandale  moss-troopers, 
and  he  traveled  into  those  picturesque  regions,  where  he  not 
only  gathered  a  vast  treasure  of  unedited  legends,  but  also 
made  himself  familiar  with  the  scenery  and  manners  of 
that  country  over  which  he  was  to  cast  the  magic  of  his 
genius.  Three  volumes  of  the  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish 
Border  were  soon  published.  The  learning  and  taste  of  this 
work  gave  Scott  a  high  reputation.  His  success  was  tempt- 
ing him  to  abandon  the  profession  of  the  law  altogether, 
and  to  devote  himself  to  literature,  when  an  appointment 
as  Sheriff  of  Selkirkshire  brought  him  to  a  decision.  He 
changed  his  residence  to  a  pleasant  farm  at  Ashestiel  on  the 
Tweed,  and  six  years  after  he  appeared  before  the  public  as 
an  original  romantic  poet. 

His  Poems.  In  1805  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  was 
published.  In  rapid  succession  followed  Marmion,  The 
Lady  of  the  Lake,  Rokeby,  and  The  Lord  of  the  Isles,  not 
to  enumerate  many  less  important  works,  such  as  The 
Vision  of  Don  Roderick,  The  Bridal  of  Triermain,  Harold 
the  Dauntless,  and  The  Field  of  Waterloo.  We  cannot 
overstate  the  rapture  of  enthusiasm  with  which  these  poems 
were  received.  They  were  written  rapidly  and  with  un- 
stinted freshness.  With  Rokeby  the  popularity  of  Scott's 
poetry,  though  still  very  great,  perceptibly  declined.  This 
may  have  been  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  he  was  not 
fortunate  in  the  choice  of  the  theme  for  that  poem,  and  in 
part  to  the  eclipsing  glory  of  Byron's  genius.  Aware  of  the 
declining  public  favor>  he  immediately  and  quietly  aban- 
doned poetry  to  enter  the  field  of  the  novelist,  where  he 
could  stand  without  a  rival. 


302  WALTER     SCOTT. 

His  Prose  Writings.  Nine  years  earlier,  Waverley  had 
been  sketched  and  thrown  aside.  In  1814  it  was  published 
without  the  author's  name, — the  first  of  the  inimitable 
Waverley  Novels.  The  town  and  the  country  were  wild  in 
its  praise,  and  all  were  curious  to  know  who  the  writer 
might  be.  The  secret  was  kept.  During  the  seventeen 
years  between  1814  and  1831  he  wrote  his  long  series  of 
novels,  and  wrote  them  with  such  inconceivable  facility, 
that,  on  an  average,  two  of  the  works  appeared  in  one  year. 
During  this  same  period  he  also  published  many  works  in 
the  departments  of  history,  criticism,  and  biography;  among 
them,  A  Life  of  Napoleon,  the  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  the 
amusing  Letters  on  Demonology  and  Witchcraft,  and  ex- 
tensive editions,  with  lives,  of  Dryden  and  Swift.  Such 
activity  is  rare  indeed  in  the  history  of  letters;  stilL 
rarer,  when  combined  with  such  general  excellence  in  the 
products.  The  impulse  to  this  prodigious  industry  was 
Scott's  passionate  and  long-cherished  ambition  to  found  a 
territorial  family,  and  to  be  able  to  live  the  life  of  a  pro- 
vincial magnate.  In  1811  he  had  purchased  about  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  banks  of  the  Tweed,  and  now, 
encouraged  by  the  immense  profits  accruing  from  his  works, 
he  purchased  one  piece  of  land  after  another,  planted  and 
improved  the  estate,  and  transformed  his  modest  cottage  at 
Abbotsford  into  a  mansion  crowded  with  the  rarest  anti- 
quarian relics.  There  he  exercised  a  princely  hospitality, 
"doing  the  honors  of  Scotland  "  to  those  who  were  attracted 
in  crowds  by  the  splendor  of  his  name.  The  funds  needed 
for  such  a  mode  of  life  he  supplied  in  part  by  engaging 
secretly  in  large  commercial  speculations  with  the  printing 
ami  publishing  firm  of  the  Ballantyues,  his  intimate  friends 
and  school-fellows. 

His  Misfortunes.  By  the  failure  of  the  Ballantynes  in  the 
commercial  crisis  of  1825,  Scott  found  himself  financially 


WALTER     SCOTT.  303 

mined.  He  might  easily  have  escaped  from  his  liabilities 
by  taking  advantage  of  the  bankrupt  law ;  but  his  sense  of 
honor  was  so  delicate  that  he  asked  only  for  time,  and  reso- 
lutely set  himself  to  pay  off,  by  unremitting  literary  toil, 
the  vast  sum  of  one  hundred  and  seventeen  thousand 
pounds.  Woodstock  was  his  first  novel  after  his  misfortune. 
It  was  written  in  three  months,  and  brought  him  £8,228. 
The  nine  volumes  of  the  Life  of  Napoleon  followed,  and 
for  that  work  he  received  £18,000.  Thus  encouraged,  he 
toiled  on  with  unflagging  energy,  determined  to  pay  the 
last  guinea  due  to  the  creditors  of  his  firm.  Volume  after 
volume  came  from  his  pen — not  so  joyous  as  the  earlier  ones 
had  been — and  he  had  all  but  reached  the  goal,  when  the 
tired  body  broke  down.  There  is  no  more  touching  or  sub- 
lime spectacle  than  that  of  this  great  genius,  in  the  full 
plenitude  of  his  powers,  voluntarily  and  without  a  word  of 
repining,  abandoning  the  splendor  he  was  so  well  qualified 
to  adorn,  and  the  rural  life  he  so  well  knew  how  to  appre- 
ciate, and  shutting  himself  up  in  a  small  house  in  Edin- 
burgh, to  wipe  out,  by  incessant  literary  toil,  the  liabilities 
which  he  had  too  much  nobility  to  evade. 

The  Waverley  Novels,  though  anonymously  published, 
were  universally  ascribed  to  him,  as  the  only  man  in  Great 
Britain  whose  peculiar  acquirements  and  turn  of  genius 
could  have  produced  them.  Nevertheless,  the  mystery  of 
the  true  authorship,  long  a  very  transparent  one,  was  main- 
tained by  Scott  with  great  care.  It  was  not  until  the  failure 
of  Ballantyne's  house  rendered  longer  concealment  im- 
possible that  he  formally  avowed  himself  their  author.*  In 
the  year  1830  his  mind,  exhausted  by  incessant  toil,  began  to 

*  Robert  Chambers,  in  the  Biographical  Dictionary  of  Eminent  Scotchmen,  sug- 
gests that  Scott  "  kept  the  Waverley  secret  with  such  pertinacious  closeness " 
because  u  unwilling  to  be  considered  as  an  author  writing  for  fortune,  which  he 
must  have  thought  something  degrading  to  the  baronet  of  Abbotsford."  The  sug- 
gestion is  the  most  plausible  that  has  been  made,  and  well  accords  with  ScottV 
foolish  notions  concerning  the  peculiar  dignity  of  titled  gentlemen. 


304  WALTER     SCOTT. 

show  symptoms  of  weakness;  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  next 
year  he  was  sent  to  Italy  and  the  Mediterranean  in  the  vain 
hope  of  re-establishing  his  health.  He  returned  to  Scot- 
land after  an  absence  of  six  months;  and  after  lingering  in 
a  state  of  almost  complete  unconsciousness  for  a  short  time, 
he  died  at  Abbotsford  on  the  21st  of  September,  1832.  His 
body  was  buried  in  the  old  ruin  of  Dryburgh  Abbey. 

His  personal  character  is  almost  perfect.  High-minded, 
generous  and  hospitable  to  the  extreme,  he  hardly  had  an 
enemy  or  a  misunderstanding  during  the  whole  of  a  long  and 
active  career.  He  was  the  delight  of  society;  for  his  con- 
versation, though  unpretending,  kindly,  and  jovial,  was 
filled  with  that  union  of  old-world  lore  and  acute  and  pic- 
turesque observation  which  renders  his  works  so  enchanting. 
There  perhaps  never  was  a  man  so  totally  free  from  the 
pettinesses  and  affectations  to  which  men  of  letters  are 
prone. 

Comments  upon  His  Narrative  Poems.  The  narrative 
poems  of  Scott  form  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  modern 
literature.  In  their  subjects,  their  versification,  and  their 
treatment,  they  were  an  innovation.  The  materials  were 
derived  from  the  legends  and  exploits  of  mediaeval  chivalry; 
and  the  actors  were  borrowed  partly  from  history  and  partly 
from  imagination.  He  seems  to  move  with  most  freedom 
in  that  picturesque  Border  region  with  whose  romantic 
legends  he  was  so  wonderfully  familiar.  The  greater  of 
these  poems  are,  unquestionably,  the  Lay  of  the  Last  Min- 
strel (254),  Marmion  (256-258)  and  the  Lady  of  the  Lake 
(259).  According  to  Scott's  own  judgment,  the  interest 
of  the  Lay  depends  mainly  upon  the  stylo,  that  of  Marmion 
upon  the  descriptions,  that  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  upon 
the  incidents.  The  plots  of  these  poems  are  in  general 
neither  very  probable  nor  very  logically  construct ed,  but 
they  allow  the  poet  ample  opportunities  for  striking  situa- 


WALTER     SCOTT.  305 

tions  and  picturesque  episodes.  The  characters  are  dis- 
criminated by  broad  and  vigorous  strokes,  rather  than  by 
any  attempt  at  moral  analysis  or  strong  delineation  of  pas- 
sion. In  his  vivid  descriptions  of  scenery,  Scott  sometimes 
indulges  in  a  quaint  but  graceful  vein  of  moralizing,  in 
which  he  beautifully  associates  inanimate  nature  with  the 
sentiments  of  the  human  heart.  A  charming  instance  of 
this  may  be  found  in  the  opening  description  of  Rokeby. 

The  action  of  the  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  is  drawn 
from  the  legends  of  Border  warfare ;  and  necromancy,  the 
tourney,  the  raid,  and  the  attack  on  a  strong  castle,  are 
successively  described  with  unabating  energy.  The  mid- 
night expedition  of  Deloraine  to  the  wizard's  tomb  in  Mel- 
rose Abbey,  the  ordeal  of  battle,  the  alarm,  the  feast,  and 
the  penitential  procession,  are  painted  with  the  force  and 
picturesqueness  of  real  scenes.  In  Marmion  the  main  action 
is  loftier  and  more  historical,  and  the  catastrophe  is  made 
to  coincide  with  the  description  of  the  great  battle  of  Flod- 
den.  It  is  indeed  "a  fearful  battle  rendered  you  in  music;" 
and  the  whole  scene,  from  the  rush  and  fury  of  the  onset 
down  to  the  least  heraldic  detail  or  minute  trifle  of  armor 
and  equipment,  is  delineated  with  the  truth  of  an  eye- 
witness. In  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  he  broke  up  new  and 
fertile  ground;  he  brought  into  contact  the  wild,  half- 
savage  mountaineers  of  the  Highlands  and  the  refined  and 
chivalrous  court  of  James  V.  The  exquisite  scenery  of  Loch 
Katrine  became,  when  invested  by  the  magic  of  the  de- 
scriptions, the  chief  object  of  the  traveler's  pilgrimage ;  and 
it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say,  as  Macaulay  has  said,  that  the 
glamour  of  the  great  poet's  genius  has  forever  hallowed 
even  the  barbarous  tribes  whose  manners  are  here  invested 
with  all  the  charms  of  fiction.  In  no  other  of  his  poems 
is  that  gallant  spirit  of  chivalric  bravery  and  courtesy  which 
pervades  Scott's  poetry,  as  it  animated  his  personal  char- 
acter, so  powerfully  manifested. 


306  WALTEE     SCOTT. 

Though  the  tale  of  Rokeby  contains  many  beautiful  de- 
scriptions, and  exhibits  strenuous  efforts  to  draw  and  con- 
trast individual  characters  with  force,  the  epoch— that  of  the 
Civil  Wars  of  Charles  the  First's  reign — was  one  in  which 
Scott  felt  himself  less  at  home  than  in  the  feudal  ages. 

The  last  of  the  greater  poems,  The  Lord  of  the  hies,  went 
back  to  Scott's  favorite  epoch.  The  voyage  of  Robert -Bruce, 
the  scenes  in  the  Castle  of  Artornish,  the  description  of  the 
savage  and  terrific  desolation  of  the  Western  Highlands,  show 
little  diminution  in  his  picturesque  power.  The  Battle  of 
Bannockburn  reminds  us  of  the  hand  that  drew  the  field 
of  Flodden.  Scott's  ardent  patriotism  must  have  found  a 
special  pleasure  in  delineating  the  great  victory  of  his 
country's  independence. 

The  Vision  of  Don  Roderick,  though  based  upon  a  striking 
and  picturesque  tradition,  is  principally  a  song  of  triumph 
over  the  recent  defeat  of  the  French  arms  in  the  Peninsula; 
but  the  moment  he  leaves  the  mediaeval  battle-field,  Scott 
seems  to  lose  half  his  power ;  in  this  poem,  as  in  Waterloo, 
his  combats  are  neither  those  of  feudal  knights  nor  of  modern 
soldiers,  and  there  is  painfully  visible,  throughout,  a  struggle 
to  be  emphatic  and  picturesque.  Indeed  it  may  be  said  that 
almost  all  poems  made  to  order,  and  written  to  celebrate 
contemporary  events,  have  a  forced  and  artificial  air. 

The  Waverley  Novels  may  be  divided  into  the  two  main 
classes  of  Historical,  or  such  as  derive  their  principal  in- 
terest from  the  delineation  of  some  real  persons  or  events  ; 
and  Personal,  or  those  entirely  or  principally  fouuded  upon 
private  life  or  family  legend.  According  to  this  method  of 
classification,  we  shall  range  seven  works  under  Scottish 
history,  seven  under  English,  and  three  will  belong  to  the 
Continental  department ;  while  the  novels  mainly  assignable 
to  the  head  of  private  life — sometimes,  it  is  true,  more  or 
less  connected,   as    in  the  cases  of  Mob  Roy  and  Red- 


WALTER     SCOTT. 


307 


gauntlet,  with  historical  events — are  twelve  in  number. 
The  latter  class  deal  for  the  most  part  with  purely  Scottish 
scenery  and  character.  The  following  arrangement  will 
assist  the  memory  in  recalling  such  a  large  and  varied  cycle 
of  works : — 

I.— HISTORICAL. 


I. — SCOTTISH Waverley.    The  Period  of  the  Pretender's  attempt  in 

1745. 
The  Legend  of  Montrose.    The  Civil  War  in  the  seven- 
teenth century. 
Old  Mortality.    The  Rebellion  of  the  Covenanters. 
The  Monastery,  )  The  deposition  and  imprisonment  of 
The  Abbot.  )     Mary  Queen  of  Scots. 

The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth.    The  Reign  of  Robert  in. 
Castle  Dangerous.    The  time  of  the  Black  Douglas. 

II. — ENGLISH Ivanhoe  (263).    The  return  of  Richard  Coeur  de  Lior 

from  the  Holy  Land. 
Kenilworth.    The  Reign  of  Elizabeth. 
The  Fortunes  of  Nigel.    Reign  of  James  I. 
Peveril  of  the  Peak.    Reign  of  Charles  II.;   period  of 

the  pretended  Catholic  plot. 
Betrothed.    The  Wars  of  the  Welsh  Marches. 
The  Talisman.    The  Third  Crusade :  Richard  Coeur  d« 

Lion. 
Woodstock.    The  Civil  War  and  Commonwealth. 

Quentin  Durward.    Louis  XL  and  Charles  the  Bold. 
Anne  of   Geierstein.     The   epoch   of    the    Battle   of 

Nancy. 
Count  Robert  of  Paris.     The  Crusaders  at   Byzan' 

tium. 


III.— CONTINENTAL. 


LL— PERSONAL. 


Ouy  Mannering. 

The  Antiquary. 

Black  Dwarf. 

Rob  Roy. 

The  Heart  of  Midlothian  (262). 

The  Bride  of  Lammermoor. 


The  Pirate. 

St.  Ronan's  Well. 

Redgauntlet. 

The  Surgeon's  Daughter. 

The  Two  Drovers. 

The  Highland  Widow. 


In  this  unequaled  series  of  fictions,  the  author's  power 
of  bringing  near  to  us  the  remote  and  historical,  whether 
of  persons,  places,  or  events,  has  something  in  common 


308  WALTEB     SCOTT. 

with  that  of  Shakespeare,  as  shown  in  his  historical  dramas. 
Scott  was  careless  in  the  construction  of  his  plots.  He 
wrote  with  great  rapidity,  and  aimed  at  picturesque  effect 
rather  than  at  logical  coherency.  His  imagination  was  so 
powerful  that  the  delight  he  felt  in  developing  the  humors 
and  adventures  of  one  of  those  inimitable  persons  he  had 
invented,  sometimes  left  him  no  space  for  the  elaboration 
of  the  pre-arranged  intrigue.  His  style,  though  always 
easy  and  animated,  is  far  from  being  careful  or  elaborate. 
Scotticisms  will  be  found  in  almost  every  chapter.  Descrip- 
tion, whether  of  scenery,  incident,  or  personal  appearance, 
is  abundant  in  his  works;  but  few  of  his  readers  will  be 
found  to  complain  of  his  luxuriance  in  this  respect,  for  it  has 
filled  his  pages  with  bright  and  vivid  pictures.  His  senti- 
ments are  invariably  pure,  manly,  and  elevated;  and  the 
spirit  of  the  true  gentleman  is  seen  as  clearly  in  his  deep 
sympathy  with  the  virtues  of  the  poor  and  humble,  as 
in  the  knightly  fervor  with  which  he  paints  the  loftier  feel- 
ings of  the  educated  classes.  In  the  delineation  of  char- 
acter, as  well  as  in  the  painting  of  external  nature,  he 
faithfully  reflects  the  surface.  He  simply  sets  before  us  so 
brightly,  so  vividly,  all  that  is  necessary  to  give  a  distinct 
idea,  that  his  images  remain  in  the  memory. 

For  further  reading  concerning  Scott's  life  and  writings  the  student  is  referred 
to  Prescott's  Biographical-  and  Critical  Miscellanies,— Irving' s  Abbotteford,— 
Lockhart's  Life  of  Scott,— articles  in  Harper's  Magazine,  Vols.  8,  26,  33,  36,  43,  44,— 
Carlyle's  Essays,— Jeffrey's  Essays,— North  American  Review,  Vol.  87,— Leslie 
Stephen's  Hours  in  the  Library  —  Hazlitt's  Miscellaneous  Works,  Vol.  V—  Bayne'a 
Essays  on  Biography  and  Criticism,  First  Series. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  :— 
The  Revolution  hi  Literary  Taste. 

1.  Bishop  Percy. 

2,  Walter  Scott,  —  a.  Hie    Potnis,—  b.  His  Prose 

Writings, — <••  Hi*  Misfortunes,— -d.  Comments 
upon  His  Narrative  Poems,-—  e.  The  Wavertef 
Novels  Classified* 


CHAPTEE  XX?. 

BYRON,     MOORE,     SHELLEY,     KEATS,     LEIGH      HUNT,     LANDOR 
HOOD,   BROWNING. 

LORD    BYRON. 

u  Never  had  any  writer  so  vast  a  command  of  the  whole  eloquence  of  scorn, 
misanthropy,  and  despair.'-—  T.  B.  Macaulay. 

"I  found  Lord  Byron  in  the  highest  degree  courteous,  and  even  kind.  We  met 
for  an  hour  or  two  almost  daily  in  Mr.  Murray's  drawing-room,  and  found  a  great 
deal  to  say  to  each  other.  .  .  .  Iiis  reading  did  not  seem  to  me  to  have  been 
very  extensive,  either  in  poetry  or  history.  Having  the  advantage  of  him  in  that 
respect,  and  possessing  a  good  competent  share  of  such  reading  as  is  little  read,  1 
was  sometimes  able  to  put  under  his  eye  objects  which  had  for  him  the  interest  of 
novelty."—  Walter  Scott. 

"  Byron's  poetry  is  great— great— it  makes  him  truly  great :  he  has  not  so  much 
greatness  in  himself."—  Thomas  Campbell. 

"To  this  day  English  critics  are  unjust  to  him.  ....  If  ever  there  was  a 
violent  and  madly  sensitive  soul,  but  incapable  of  being  otherwise  ;  ever  agitated, 
but  in  an  enclosure  without  issue ;  predisposed  to  poetry  by  its  innate  fire,  but 
limited  by  its  natural  barriers  to  a  single  kind  of  poetry— it  was  Byron's."— H.  A 
Taine. 

THE  influence  exerted  by  Byron  on  the  taste  and  senti- 
ment of  Europe  has  not  yet  passed  away,  and,  though 
far  from  being  so  pervading  as  it  once  was,  it  is  not  likely  to 
be  effaced.  He  called  himself,  in  one  of  his  poems,  "the 
grand  Napoleon  of  the  realms  of  rhyme;''  and  there  is 
some  similarity  between  the  suddenness  and  splendor  of  his 
literary  career,  and  the  meteoric  rise  and  domination  of  the 
first  Bonaparte.  They  were  both,  in  their  respective  de- 
partments, the  offspring  of  revolution ;  and  both,  after 
reigning  with  absolute  power  for  some  time,  were  deposed 
from  their  supremacy.  Their  reigns  will  leave  traces  in  the 
political,  and  in  the  literary  history  of  the  nineteenth  cen« 


310  BYRON. 

tury.  George  Gordon,  Lord  Byron  (1788-1824)  (264-277), 
was  born  in  London,  and  was  the  son  of  an  unprincipled 
profligate  and  of  a  Scottish  heiress.  His  mother  had  a 
temper  so  passionate  and  uncontrolled  that,  in  its  capricious 
alternations  of  fondness  and  violence,  she  seemed  insane. 
Her  dowry  was  speedily  dissipated  by  her  worthless  hus- 
band, and  she,  with  her  boy,  was  obliged  to  live  for  several 
years  in  comparative  poverty.  He  was  about  eleven  years 
old  when  the  death  of  his  grand-uncle,  an  eccentric  and 
misanthropic  recluse,  made  him  heir-presumptive  to  the 
baronial  title  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  aristocratic  houses 
in  England.  With  the  title,  he  inherited  large,  though 
embarrassed  estates,  and  the  noble,  picturesque  residence  of 
Newstead  Abbey,  near  Nottingham.  He  was  sent  first  to 
Harrow  School,  and  afterwards  to  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge. At  college  he  became  notorious  for  the  irregular- 
ities of  his  conduct.  He  was  a  greedy  though  desultory 
reader;  and  his  imagination  was  especially  attracted  to 
Oriental  history  and  travels. 

While  at  Cambridge,  in  his  twentieth  year,  Byron  made 
his  first  literary  attempt,  in  the  publication  of  a  small 
volume  of  fugitive  poems  entitled  Hours  of  Idleness,  by  Lord 
Byron,  a  Minor.  An  unfavorable  criticism  of  this  work  in 
the  Edinburgh  Review  threw  him  into  a  frenzy  of  rage. 
He  instantly  set  about  taking  his  revenge  in  the  satire, 
English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers,  in  which  he  involved 
in  one  common  storm  of  invective,  not  only  his  enemies  of 
the  Edinburgh  Review,  but  almost  all  the  literary  men  of 
the  day,— Walter  Scott,  Moore,  and  many  others,  from 
whom  he  had  received  no  provocation  whatever.  He  soon 
became  ashamed  of  his  unreasoning  violence;  tried,  but 
vainly,  to  suppress  the  poem ;  and,  in  after  life,  became  the 
friend  and  sincere  admirer  of  some  whom  he  had  lampooned. 
Byron  went  abroad  to  travel,  and  filled  his  mind  with  the 
picturesque  life  and  scenery  of  Greece,  Turkey  and   the 


BYRON.  311 

East,  accumulating  those  stores  of  character  and  descrip- 
tion which  he  displayed  with  splendor  in  his  poems.  The 
first  two  cantos  of  Childe  Harold  (264-267)  took  the  pub- 
lic by  storm,  and  placed  the  young  poet  at  the  summit  of 
social  and  literary  popularity.  "  I  awoke  one  morning,"  he 
says,  "  and  found  myself  famous."  These  cantos  were  fol- 
lowed in  rapid  succession  by  The  Giaour  (268,  269),  The 
Bride  of  Abydos  (270),  The  Corsair  (271),  and  Lara. 
Scott  had  drawn  his  material  from  feudal  and  Scottish  life  ; 
Byron  broke  up  new  ground  in  describing  the  manners, 
scenery,  and  wild  passions  of  the  East  and  of  Greece — a 
region  as  picturesque  as  that  of  his  rival,  and  as  new  and 
fresh  to  readers.  Eeturning  to  England  in  his  dawning 
fame,  the  poet  became  the  lion  of  the  day.  His  life  was 
passed  in  fashionable  dissipation.  He  married  Miss  Mil- 
banke,  a  lady  of  fortune ;  but  the  union  was  an  unhappy 
one.  In  about  a  year  Lady  Byron  suddenly  quitted  her 
husband.  Her  reasons  for  taking  this  step  remain  a  mys- 
tery. Deeply  wounded  by  the  scandal  of  this  separation, 
the  poet  again  left  England ;  and  thenceforth  his  life 
was  passed  uninterruptedly  on  the  Continent,  in  Switzer- 
land, in  Italy,  and  in  Greece,  where  he  solaced  his  embit- 
tered spirit  with  misanthropical  attacks  upon  all  that  his 
countrymen  held  sacred.  "While  at  Geneva  he  produced 
the  third  canto  of  Childe  Harold,  The  Prisoner  of  Chillon 
(273),  Manfred,  (274),  and  The  Lament  of  Tasso.  Be- 
tween 1818  and  1821  he  was  residing  at  Venice  and 
Ravenna ;  and  was  writing  Mazeppa,  the  first  five  cantos  of 
Don  Juan,  and  most  of  his  tragedies,  as  Marino  Faliero, 
Sardanapalus,  The  Two  Foscari,  Werner,  Cain, ,  and  The 
Deformed  Transformed.  In  many  of  these  poems  the  in- 
fluence of  Shelley's  literary  manner  and  philosophical  tenets 
is  traceable.  At  this  time  he  was  grossly  dissipated.  In 
1823  he  determined  to  devote  his  fortune  and  his  influence 
to  the  aid  of  the  Greeks,  then  struggling  for  their  indepen- 


312  BY  RON. 

dence.  He  arrived  at  Missolonghi  at  the  beginning  of 
1824 ;  where,  after  giving  striking  indications  of  his  prac- 
tical talents,  as  well  as  of  his  ardor  and  self-sacrifice,  he 
died  on  the  19th  of  April  of  the  same  year,  at  the  early  age 
of  thirty-six. 

Childe  Harold.  Childe  Harold,  his  most  remarkable  poem, 
consists  of  a  series  of  gloomy  but  intensely  poetical  mono- 
logues, put  into  the  mouth  of  a  jaded  and  misanthropic 
voluptuary,  who  seeks  refuge  from  his  misery  in  the  con- 
templation of  lovely  and  historic  scenes  of  travel.  The  first 
canto  describes  Portugal  and  Spain  ;  the  second  carries 
the  wanderer  to  Greece,  Albania  and  the  Mge&n  Archi- 
pelago; in  the  third,  the  finest  of  them  all,  Switzerland, 
Belgium  and  the  Khine,  give  opportunities  not  only  for 
splendid  pictures  of  the  beauty  of  nature,  but  also  for  mus- 
ings on  Napoleon,  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  and  the  great  men 
whose  renown  has  thrown  a  new  glory  over  those  enchant- 
ing scenes ;  in  the  fourth  canto  the  reader  is  borne  success- 
ively over  the  fairest  part  of  Italy — Venice,  Ferrara,  Florence, 
Rome,  and  Ravenna — and  the  immortal  dead,  and  the  master- 
pieces of  painting  and  sculpture,  are  described  to  him  with 
an  intensity  of  feeling  that  had  never  before  been  shown  in 
descriptive  poetry. 

The  first  two  cantos  are  somewhat  feeble  and  tame  as 
compared  with  the  strength  and  massive  power  of  the  two 
latter,  which  are  the  productions  of  his  more  mature  faculties. 
The  third  canto  contains  the  magnificent  description  of  the 
Battle  of  Waterloo.  The  poem  is  written  in  the  Spenserian 
stanza.  To  the  beginning  the  poet  makes  an  effort  to  <rivo 
somewhat  of  the  quaint  and  archaic  character  of  the  Pair) 
Queen  ;  but  ho  soon  throws  off  the  useless  and  embarrass- 
ing restraint.  In  intensity  of  feeling,  in  richness  and  har- 
mony of  expression,  and   in  an  imposing  tone  of  gloomy, 


BYRON.  313 

skeptical,  and  misanthropic  reflection,  Childe  Harold  stands 
alone  in  our  literature. 

Qualities  of  His  Poems.  The  romantic  tales  of  Byron  are 
all  marked  by  similar  peculiarities  of  thought  and  treatment, 
though  they  differ  in  the  kind  and  degree  of  their  respective 
excellences.  The  Giaour  (268),  The  Siege  of  Corinth,  Ma- 
zeppa,  Parisma,  The  Prisoner  of  Chilton  (273),  and  The 
Bride  of  Abydos,  are  written  in  that  irregular  and  flowing 
versification  which  Scott  brought  into  fashion ;  while  The 
Corsair,  Lara,  and  The  Island,  are  in  the  regular  heroic 
measure.  These  poems  are,  in  general,  fragmentary.  They 
are  made  up  of  intensely  interesting  moments  of  passion 
and  action.  Neither  in  these  nor  in  any  of  his  works  does 
Byron  show  the  least  power  of  delineating  variety  of  char- 
acter. There  are  but  two  personages  in  all  his  poems — a 
man  in  whom  unbridled  passions  have  desolated  the  heart, 
and  left  it  hard  and  impenetrable ;  a  man  contemptuous  of 
his  kind,  skeptical  and  despairing,  yet  occasionally  feeling 
kindly  emotions  with  a  singular  intensity.  The  woman  is 
the  woman  of  the  East — devoted  and  loving,  but  loving  with 
the  unreasoning  attachment  of  the  lower  animals.  These 
elements  of  character,  meagre  and  unnatural  as  they  are, 
are,  however,  set  before  us  with  such  power  that  the  young 
and  inexperienced  reader  invariably  loses  sight  of  their 
contradictions.  In  all  these  poems  we  meet  with  tender, 
animated  or  profound  descriptions  ;  thus  the  famous  com- 
parison of  enslaved  Greece  to  a  corpse  in  The  Giaour,  the 
night-scene  and  the  battle-scene  in  The  Corsair  and  Lara, 
the  eve  of  the  storming  of  the  city  in  TJie  Siege  of  Corinth, 
and  the  fiery  energy  of  the  attack  in  the  same  poem,  the 
exquisite  opening  lines  in  Parisma,  besides  a  multitude  of 
others,  might  be  adduced  to  prove  Byron's  extraordinary 
genius  in  communicating  to  his  pictures  the  coloring  of  his 
own  feelings  and  character. 


314  BYRON. 

In  Bepjjo  and  The  Vision  of  Judgment  Byron  has  ven- 
tured upon  the  gay,  airy,  aud  satirical.  The  former  of  these 
poems  is  not  over-moral ;  but  it  is  exquisitely  playful  and 
sparkling.  The  Vision  is  a  severe  attack  upon  Southey,  and 
though  somewhat  ferocious,  is  exceedingly  brilliant.  Among 
the  less  commonly  read  of  Byron's  longer  poems  we  may 
mention  The  Age  of  Bronze,  a  vehement  satirical  declama- 
tion; The  Curse  of  Minerva,  directed  against  the  spoliation 
of  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  by  Lord  Elgin  ;  The  Lament 
of  Tasso,  and  The  Prophecy  of  Dante,  the  latter  written  in 
the  difficult  terza  rima,  the  first  attempt  of  any  English  poet 
to  employ  that  measure.  The  Dream  is  in  some  respects 
the  most  touching  of  Byron's  minor  works.  It  is  the  nar- 
rative, in  the  form  of  a  vision,  of  his  early  and  unfortunate 
passion  for  Mary  Chaworth. 

His  Dramatic  Works.  The  dramatic  works  of  Byron  are  in 
many  respects  unlike  what  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  peculiar  character  of  his  genius.  In  form  they  are  cold, 
severe,  and  lofty.  Artful  involution  of  intrigue  they  have 
not;  and  though  singularly  destitute  of  powerful  passion, 
they  are  full  of  sentiment.  The  finest  of  them  is  Manfred, 
a  poem  consisting  not  of  action  represented  in  dialogue,  but 
of  a  series  of  soliloquies,  in  which  the  mysterious  hero 
describes  nature,  and  pours  forth  his  despair  and  his  self- 
pity.  In  this  work,  as  well  as  in  Cain,  we  see  the  expression 
of  Byron's  skeptical  spirit,  and  the  tone  of  half-melancholy, 
half-mocking  misanthropy,  which  was  in  him  partly  sincere 
and  partly  put  on  for  effect.  The  more  exclusively  histori- 
cal pieces — Marino  Faliero,  The  Two  Foscari — are  derived 
from  Venetian  annals;  but  in  neither  of  them  has  Byron 
clothed  the  events  with  living  reality.  There  is  in  then 
dramas  a  complete  failure  in  variety  of  character  ;  and  the 
interest  is  concentrated  in  the  obstinate  harping  of  the 
principal  personages  upon  one  topic — their  own  wrongs  and 


BYRON.  315 

humiliations.  In  Sardanapalus  the  remoteness  of  the  epoch 
chosen,  and  our  total  ignorance  of  the  interior  life  of  those 
times,  remove  the  story  into  the  region  of  fiction.  Werner, 
a  piece  of  domestic  interest,  is  borrowed  bodily,  as  re- 
gards its  incidents,  and  even  much  of  its  dialogue,  from 
the  Hungarian's  Story  in  Miss  Lee's  Canterbury  Tales; 
indeed,  Byron's  share  in  its  composition  extends  little  far- 
ther than  the  cutting  up  of  Miss  Lee's  prose  into  tolerably 
regular  lines. 

Don  Juan  is  the  longest,  and  in  some  respects  the  most 
characteristic,  of  Byron's  poems.  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the 
most  significant  productions  of  the  age  of  revolution  and 
skepticism  which  preceded  its  appearance.  The  outline  of 
the  story  is  the  old  Spanish  legend  of  Don  Juan  de  Tenorio, 
upon  which  have  been  founded  so  many  dramatic  works, 
among  the  rest  the  Festin  de  Pierre  of  Moliere  and  the 
immortal  opera  of  Mozart.  The  fundamental  idea  of  the 
atheist  and  voluptuary,  enabled  Byron  to  carry  his  hero 
through  various  adventures,  serious  and  comic,  to  exhibit 
his  fine  powers  of  description,  and  remain  unfettered  by  any 
necessities  of  time  and  place.  Even  in  its  unfinished  state,  it 
consists  of  sixteen  cantos,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  have  been  indefinitely  extended.  It  was  the 
author's  intention  to  bring  his  hero's  adventures  to  a  regular 
termination,  but  so  desultory  a  series  of  incidents  has  no 
real  coherency.  The  merits  of  this  poem  are  its  richness  of 
ideas,  thoughts,  and  images  ;  its  witty  allusion  and  sarcastic 
reflection ;  and  above  all,  its  frequent  and  easy  transitions. 
The  morality  is  throughout  very  low  and  selfish;  but,  in 
spite  of  much  superficial  flippancy,  this  poem  contains  pro- 
found and  melancholy  satire. 

Angus's  Estimate  of  Byron.  "The  genius  of  Lord 
Byron  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  our  literature  for 


316  BYRON. 

originality,  versatility,  and  energy.  It  is  true  that  his  quick 
sense  of  beauty  made  him  a  mimic  of  other  poets ;  it  is  true 
that  as  the  wealth  of  his  own  resources  raised  him  above 
the  suspicion  of  unfair  copying,  he  never  scrupled  to  imitate 
whatever  he  most  admired ;  but  it  is  no  less  true  that  he  is 
on  the  whole  one  of  the  most  original  writers  of  his  age. 
His  versatility  is  perhaps  less  obvious.  The  monotony  of 
his  motives  and  of  his  characters  strikes  every  reader;  but 
characters  and  tone  apart,  his  style  and  imagery  and  senti- 
ments are  endlessly  diversified,  nor  has  he  treated  a  single 
subject  in  which  he  has  not  excelled.  His  energy,  however, 
is  his  most  striking  quality ;  '  thoughts  that  breathe,  and 
words  that  burn '  are  the  common  staple  of  his  poetry.  He 
is  everywhere  impressive,  not  only  in  passages,  but  through 
the  whole  body  and  tissue  of  his  compositions. 

"  With  all  this  we  cannot  but  concur  in  Lord  Jeffrey's 
judgment:  'the  general  tendency  of  Lord  Byron's  writings 
we  believe  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  pernicious;  though 
his  poems  abound  in  sentiments  of  great  dignity  and  ten- 
derness, as  well  as  in  passages  of  infinite  sublimity  and 
beauty,  it  is  their  tendency  to  destroy  all  belief  in  the 
reality  of  virtue,  and  to  make  all  enthusiasm  and  consist- 
ency of  affection  ridiculous.'  His  sarcasm  blasts  alike  the 
weeds  of  hypocrisy  and  cant,  and  the  flowers  of  faith  and  of 
holiest  affections.  '  His  plan  of  blending  in  one  and  the 
same  character  lofty  superiority  and  contempt  for  common- 
place virtue,  heroism  and  sensuality,  great  intellectual 
power  and  a  mocking,  profane  spirit,  is  as  unnatural  as  it  is 
mischievous.'"* 


For  discussions  of  Byron  and  his  works,  pee  Moore's  IAfe  of  Byron,— Edin- 
burgh Reiiew,  Vol  XXVII.,- North  American  Review,  Vols.  V.,  XIII  .  XX. 
andLX.,—  The  British  K'ssai/isls,  Jeffrey,— E.  P.  Whipple's  Essays,  Vol.  I.,— and 
Taine's  English  Literature. 


*  Angus  Eng.  Lit.,  p.  8-19. 


MOORE.  •  317 

Thomas  Moore  (1779-1852),  the  persona,  friend  and  biographer 
of  Byron,  though  living  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  Byron, 
Shelley,  and  Scott,  is  associated  with  them  in  literature.  This  in 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  his  best  works  were  written  early  in 
the  century.  He  was  an  Irishman,  born  in  Dublin,  and  received  an 
education  such  as  was  called  for  by  his  extraordinary  talents. 
Being  a  Catholic,  many  of  the  avenues  to  public  distinction  were 
then  closed  to  him  by  the  invidious  laws  that  oppressed  his  country 
and  his  religion.  After  distinguishing  himself  at  the  University  of 
Dublin  he  passed  over  to  London,  nominally  with  the  intention  of 
studying  law  in  the  Temple,  but  he  soon  began  his  long  and 
brilliant  career  as  a  poet.  He  first  appeared  as  the  translator  of 
the  Odes  of  Anacreon.  The  work,  published  by  subscription,  and 
dedicated  to  the  Prince  Regent,  immediately  introduced  Moore  into 
gay  and  fashionable  life.  He  had,  both  in  his  personal  and  poeti- 
cal character,  everything  calculated  to  make  him  the  favorite  of 
society ;  great  conversational  talents,  an  agreeable  voice,  and  a 
degree  of  musical  skill  that  enabled  him  to  give  effect  to  his  tender, 
voluptuous  or  patriotic  songs.  During  his  whole  life  he  was  the 
spoiled  child  of  popularity.  In  1804  he  obtained  a  small  govern- 
ment post  in  the  island  of  Bermuda.  His  visit  to  America  and  the 
Antilles  drew  from  him  some  of  the  most  sparkling  of  his  early 
poems.  Nearly  the  whole  of  his  long  life  was  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  rapid  succession  of  compositions,  both  in  prose  and 
verse.  As  an  Irishman  and  a  Catholic,  Moore's  sentiments  naturally 
supplied  the  biting  and  yet  pleasant  sarcasm  found  in  his  political 
pasquinades.  He  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  a  cottage  near 
Bowood,  the  residence  of  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  whose  friend- 
ship he  had  won. 

His  Poetry.  Moore's  poetical  writings  consist  chiefly  of  lyrics, 
serious  and  comic,  the  most  celebrated  collection  among  them 
being  the  Irish  Melodies.  The  version  of  Anacreon  is  far  too  bril- 
liant and  ornamental  in  its  language  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the 
manner  of  the  Greek  poet.  In  his  juvenile  poems,  as  well  as  in  the 
collection  published  under  the  pseudonym  of  Thomas  Little,  in  the 
productions  suggested  by  his  visit  to  America  and  the  West  Indies, 
and  in  the  Odes  and  Epistles,  we  see  invention,  and  also  a  strongly 
voluptuous  tendency  of  sentiment,  sometimes  carried  beyond  the 
bounds  of  good  taste  and  morality. 


318  MOORE. 

The  Irish  Melodies,  a  collection  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
five  songs  (279-282),  V7OT8  composed  in  order  to  furnish  appro- 
priate words  to  beautiful  national  airs,  some  of  great  antiquity, 
which  had  been  degraded  by  becoming  gradually  associated  with 
lines  often  vulgar  and  not  always  decent.  Patriotism,  love,  and  con- 
viviality form  the  subject-matter  of  these  charming  lyrics;  their 
versification  has  never  been  surpassed  for  melody  and  neatness;  the 
language  is  always  clear,  appropriate,  and  concise,  and  sometimes 
reaches  a  high  degree  of  majesty,  vigor,  or  tenderness.  Though 
Moore  is  destitute  of  the  sincerity  of  Burns,  yet  like  Burns  he 
appeals  to  the  universal  sentiments  of  his  countrymen,  and  his 
popularity  is  proportionally  great.  "  Burns  and  Moore  stand  side 
by  side  as  the  lyrists  of  two  kindred  nations.  But  the  works  of 
the  latter,  polished  and  surpassingly  sweet  as  they  are,  have  some- 
thing of  the  drawing-room  sheen  about  them,  which  does  not  find 
its  way  to  the  heart  so  readily  as  the  simple  grace  of  the  uncon- 
ventional Ayrshire  peasant.  The  Muse  of  the  Irish  lawyer  is 
crowned  with  a  circlet  of  shining  gems ;  the  Muse  of  the  Scottish 
peasant  wears  a  garland  of  sweet  field-flowers."* 

The  political  squibs  of  Moore  were  directed  against  the  Tory 
party  in  general,  and  were  showered  with  peculiar  vivacity  and 
stinging  effect  upon  the  Regent,  afterwards  George  IV.,  and  upon 
all  who  were  opposed  to  the  granting  of  any  privileges  to  the  Irish 
Catholics.  His  Odes  on  Cash,  Corn,  and  Catholics,  his  Fables  for  the 
Holy  Alliance,  show  an  inexhaustible  invention  of  quaint  and  in- 
genious ideas,  and  the  power  of  bringing  the  most  remote  allusions 
to  bear  upon  the  person  or  thing  selected  for  attack.  Some  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  these  brilliant  pasquinades  were  combined  into 
a  story  ;  as  for  example  The  Fudge  Family  in  Paris,  purporting  to 
be  a  series  of  letters  written  from  France  at  the  time  of  the 
Restoration  of  the  Bourbons.  These  poetical  epistles  are  seasoned 
with  such  a  multitude  of  personal  and  political  allusions,  that 
The  Fudge  Family  retains  its  popularity,  as  a  social  and  political 
sketch  of  a  most  interesting  episode  in  modern  European  history. 

The  longer  and  more  ambitious  poems  of  Moore  are  Lalla  Rookh 
and  the  Lovti  <>f  the  Angela,  the  former  being  immeasurably  the 
better,  both  in  the  interest  of  the  story  and  in  the  power  of  its 
treatment.     The  plan  of  Lalla  Rookh  is  original ;  it  consists  of  a 

•  Collier. 


MOORE,     SHELLEY  319 

little  prose  love-tale,  describing  the  journey  of  a  beautiful  Oriental 
princess  from  Delhi  to  Bucharia,  where  she  is  to  meet  her  be- 
trothed, the  king  of  the  latter  country.  The  prose  of  the  work 
is  inimitably  beautiful ;  the  whole  style  is  sparkling  with  Oriental 
gems,  and  perfumed  as  with  Oriental  musk  and  roses;  and  the 
very  profusion  of  brilliancy  and  of  voluptuous  languor,  which  in 
another  kind  of  composition  might  be  regarded  as  meretricious, 
only  adds  to  the  effect.  The  story  forms  a  setting  to  four  poems  : 
The  Veiled  Prophet,  The  Fire  Worshippers,  Paradise  and  the  PeH 
(278).  and  The  Light  of  the  Harem  ;  all,  of  course,  of  an  Eastern 
character,  and  the  first  two  in  some  degree  historical.  The  first, 
written  in  the  rhymed  heroic  couplet,  is  the  longest  and  most 
ambitious,  while  the  others  are  composed  in  that  irregular,  animated 
versification,  brought  into  fashion  by  Walter  Scott  and  Byron. 

His  Prose  Writings.  The  chief  prose  works  of  Moore  are  the 
three  biographies  of  Sheridan,  Byron,  and  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald, 
and  the  tale  of  The  Epicurean.  The  last,  a  narrative  of  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity,  describes  the  conversion  of  a  young  Athenian  phil- 
osopher, who  travels  into  Egypt,  and  is  initiated  into  the  mysterious 
worship  of  Isis.  Moore's  biographies,  especially  that  of  Byron,  are 
of  great  value.  His  memoir  of  his  friend  and  fellow-poet  is  the 
best  that  has  yet  appeared. 

Percy  Bysshe  Shelley  (1792-1822)  was  of  a  wealthy  family, 
and  was  born  at  Field  Place,  in  Sussex  (283-285).  At  Eton  his 
sensitive  mind  was  shocked  by  the  sight  of  boyish  tyranny;  and  he 
went  to  Oxford  full  of  abhorrence  for  the  cruelty  and  bigotry  which 
he  fancied  pervaded  all  the  relations  of  civilized  life.  He  filled  his 
mind  with  arguments  against  Christianity  ;  and  having  published 
a  tract  avowing  atheistic  principles,  he  was  expelled  from  the  Uni- 
versity. This  scandal,  together  with  his  marriage  to  a  beautiful 
girl,  his  inferior  in  rank,  caused  him  to  be  renounced  by  his  family. 
After  a  few  years  his  wife  left  him,  and  subsequently  ended  her  life 
by  suicide.  He  then  married  Mary  Wollstonecraft  Godwin,  and  hav- 
ing induced  his  family  to  make  him  an  allowance,  he  was  relieved 
from  pecuniary  difficulties.  The  delicate  state  of  his  health  ren- 
dered it  advisable  that  he  should  leave  England  for  a  warmer 
climate,  and  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  abroad,  with 
only  one  short  interruption,     In  Switzerland  he  became  acquainted 


320  SHELLEY. 

with  Byron,  upon  whom  he  exerted  a  powerful  influence.  He 
afterwards  migrated  to  Italy,  where  he  kept  up  an  intimate  com- 
panionship with  Byron,  still  continuing  to  pour  forth  his  strange 
and  enchanting  poetry.  He  resided  at  Rome,  and  composed  there 
many  of  his  finest  productions.  His  death  was  early  and  tragic. 
Boating  had  always  been  a  passion  with  him.  As  he  was  returning 
in  a  small  yacht  from  Leghorn,  in  company  with  a  friend  and  a 
single  sailor,  his  vessel  was  caught  in  a  squall,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Spezzia,  and  went  down  with  all  on  hoard.  His  body  was  washed 
ashore  some  days  afterwards,  and  in  accordance  with  the  quaran- 
tine laws  of  that  locality  was  burned.  Byron  deposited  the  ashes 
in  the  Protestant  cemetery  at  Rome. 

Shelley,  both  as  a  poet  and  as  a  man,  was  a  dreamer,  a  visionary. 
The  very  intensity  of  his  sympathy  with  his  kind  clouded  his 
reason  ;  and  he  fell  into  the  common  error  of  enthusiasts,  of  suppos- 
ing that,  if  the  present  organization  of  society  were  swept  away,  a 
millennium  of  virtue  and  happiness  must  ensue.  As  a  poet  he  was 
gifted  with  genius  of  a  high  order,  with  richness  and  fertility  of 
imagination,  an  intense  fire  and  energy  in  the  reproduction  of  what 
he  conceived,  and  a  command  over  all  the  resources  of  metrical 
harmony  such  as  no  English  poet  has  surpassed.  His  career  com- 
mences with  Queen  Mab,  written  by  the  poet  when  but  eighteen 
years  old,  a  wild  phantasmagoria  of  beautiful  description  and  fer- 
vent declamation.  The  defect  of  the  poem,  and  indeed  of  many  of 
Shelley's  other  compositions,  is  a  vagueness  of  meaning  often  be- 
coming absolutely  unintelligible. 

The  finest  and  most  distinct  of  his  longer  poems  is  Alastor,  or 
the  Spirit  of  Solitude.  In  its  blank  verse  he  depicts  the  sufferings 
of  such  a  character  as  his  own,— a  being  of  the  warmest  sympathies, 
and  of  the  loftiest  aspirations,  driven  into  solitude  and  despair  by 
the  ingratitude  of  his  kind,  who  are  incapable  of  understanding 
and  sympathizing  with  his  aims.  Its  descriptions  are  beautiful  : 
woodland  and  river  scenery  are  painted  with  a  wealth  of  tropical 
luxuriance  that  places  Shelley  in  tho  foremost  rank  among  pictorial 
poets.  The  Revolt  of  Islam,  llell/is,  and  The  Witch  of  Atlas,  are  vio- 
lent invectives  against  kingcraft,  priestcraft,  religion,  and  marriage, 
alternating  with  airy  and  exquisite  pictures  of  scenes  and  beings  of 
unearthly  splendor. 

Two  important   works  of  Shelley  are   dramatic  in  form — Pro- 


JOHN     KEATS.  321 

metJieus  Unbound  and  The  Cenci.  The  Prometheus  is  wild  and 
unintelligible;  still  it  contains  passages  of  beauty  and  sublimity. 
It  breathes  hostility  to  social  systems,  and  love  for  humanity  in  the 
abstract.  Many  of  the  descriptive  passages  are  sublime ;  and 
bursts  of  lyric  harmony  alternate  with  the  wildest  personifications 
and  the  strongest  invective.  The  Cenci  is  founded  on  the  famous 
crime  of  Beatrice  di  Cenci.  Driven  to  parricide  by  the  wicked- 
ness of  her  father,  she  suffered  the  penalty  of  death  at  Rome.  In 
spite  of  several  powerful  and  striking  scenes,  the  piece  is  of  a 
morbid  and  unpleasing  character,  though  the  language  is  vigorous. 
Shelley  had  a  desperate  hostility  to  marriage ;  and  his  narrative 
poem  of  Rosalind  and  Helen  is  an  elaborate  plea  against  that  insti- 
tution. In  the  poem  of  Adonais  he  has  given  us  a  touching  lament 
on  the  early  death  of  Keats.  One  of  the  most  imaginative,  and  at 
the  same  time  one  of  the  obscurest,  of  Shelley's  poems  is  The  Sensi- 
tive Plant.  It  combines  the  qualities  of  mystery  and  fancifulness  to 
the  highest  degree,  perpetually  stimulating  the  reader  with  a  desire 
to  penetrate  the  meaning  symbolized  in  the  brilliant  description 
of  the  garden  and  the  plant.  Many  of  his  detached  lyrics  are  of 
inexpressible  beauty.  The  Ode  to  a  Skylark  (283)  breathes  the 
very  rapture  of  the  bird's  soaring  song.  Wild  and  picturesque 
imagery  abounds  in  the  poem  of  The  Cloud. 

John  Keats  (1796-1821)  was  born  in  Moorfields,  London,  and, 
in  his  fifteenth  year,  was  apprenticed  to  a  surgeon.  During  his 
apprenticeship  he  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  poetry,  and  in  1817, 
he  published  a  juvenile  volume.  His  long  poem,  Endymion,  fol- 
lowed in  1818  (289)-  It  was  severely  censured  by  The  Quarterly 
Review,  and  the  attack  has  been  erroneously  described  as  the  cause 
of  his  death.  He  had  a  constitutional  tendency  to  consumption, 
which  would  have  developed  itself  under  any  circumstances.  For 
the  recovery  of  his  health  he  went  to  Home,  where  he  died.  In 
the  previous  year  he  had  published  another  volume  of  poems,  and 
a  fragment  of  his  remarkable  poem  entitled  Hyperion  (287)- 

It  was  the  misfortune  of  Keats  to  be  either  extravagantly  praised 
or  unmercifully  condemned.  What  is  most  remarkable  in  his 
works  is  the  wonderful  profusion  of  figurative  language,  often 
exquisitely  beautiful  and  luxuriant,  but  sometimes  fantastical  and 
far-fetched.     One  word,  one  image,  one  rhyme  suggests  another, 


322  CAMPBELL,     nu\T. 

till  we  lose  sight  of  the  original  idea,  smothered  in  its  own  luxuri- 
ance. Keats  deserves  high  praise  for  one  very  original  merit:  he 
has  treated  the  classical  mythology  in  a  way  absolutely  new, 
representing  the  Pagan  deities  not  as  mere  abstractions  of  art,  nor 
as  mere  creatures  of  popular  belief,  but  giving  them  passions  and 
affections  like  our  own,  though  highly  purified  and  idealized.  In 
Hyperion,  in  the  Ode  to  Pan  (which  appears  in  "Endymion"),  in 
the  Verses  on  a  Grecian  Urn  (288),  we  find  a  strain  of  classic 
imagery,  combined  with  a  perception  of  natural  loveliness  inex- 
pressibly rich  and  delicate.  If  we  consider  his  extreme  youth  and 
delicate  health,  his  solitary  and  interesting  self-instruction,  the 
severity  of  the  attacks  made  upon  him  by  hostile  and  powerful 
critics,  and,  above  all,  the  original  richness  and  picturesqueness  of 
his  conceptions  and  imagery,  even  when  they  run  to  waste,  he 
appears  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  young  poets. 

Thomas  Campbell  (1777-1844)  was  born  at  Glasgow,  and  was 
educated  at  the  University  in  that  city,  where  he  distinguished 
himself  by  his  translations  from  the  Greek  poets.  In  his  twenty- 
second  year,  he  published  his  Pleasures  of  Hope  (290)i  and  w  is 
encouraged  by  having  it  received  with  hearty  enthusiasm.  Shortly 
afterwards  he  traveled  abroad,  where  the  warlike  scenes  he  wit- 
nessed, and  the  battle-fields  he  visited,  suggested  several  noble 
lyrics.  To  the  seventh  edition  of  The  Pleasures  of  Hope,  published 
in  1802,  were  added  the  verses  on  the  battle  of  Hohenlinden  (293), 
Ye  Mariners  of  England  (232);  the  most  popular  of  his  songs,  and 
LocltieVs  Warning.  In  the  following  year  he  settled  in  London, 
married,  and  began  in  earnest  the  pursuit  of  literature  as  a  pro- 
fession. In  1843  he  retired  to  Boulogne,  where  he  died  in  the 
following  year.  His  body  was  returned  to  England  and  interred  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

In  the  circle  of  poets  with  Byron,  Shelley,  and  Keats,  outliving 
them  by  many  years,  the  names  of  Leigh  Hunt  and  Walter  StYagQ 
Landor  must  be  mentioned. 

James  Henry  Leigh  Hunt  (1784-i859)  wa9  born  at  Southgate, 
Middlesex,  and  received  his  education  at  Christ's  Hospital.  In 
1805  fre  joined  his  brother  in  editing  a  paper  called  The  Neic*.  and 
shortly  afterwards   established    The  Examiner.     A  conviction  for 


HUNT,     LANDOR.  323 

libel  on  the  Prince  Regent  detained  him  in  prison  for  two  years. 
Soon  after  leaving  prison  he  published  the  Story  of  Rimini,  an 
Italian  tale  in  verse  (1816),  containing  some  exquisite  poetry. 
About  1818  he  started  The  Indicator,  a  weekly  paper,  in  imitation 
of  The  Spectator ;  and  in  1822  he  went  to  Italy,  to  assist  Lord 
Byron  and  Shelley  in  their  projected  paper  called  The  Liberal. 
Shelley  died  soon  after  Hunt's  arrival  in  Italy  ;  and  though  Hunt 
was  kindly  received  by  Byron,  and  lived  for  a  time  in  his  house, 
there  was  no  congeniality  between  them.  Returning  to  England, 
he  continued  to  write  for  periodicals,  and  published  various  poems. 
His  poetry  is  graceful,  sprightly,  and  full  of  fancy.  Although  not 
possessing  much  soul  and  emotion,  here  and  there  his  verse  is  lit 
up  with  wit,  or  glows  with  tenderness  and  grace.  His  prose  writ- 
ings consist  of  essays,  collected  under  the  titles  of  The  Indicator 
and  The  Companion ;  Sir  Ralph  Esther,  a  novel ;  The  Old  Court 
Suburb ;  his  lives  of  Wycherley,  Congreve,  Vanbrugh,  and  Farquhar, 
prefixed  to  his  edition  of  their  dramatic  writings. 

Walter  Savage  Landor  (1775-1864)  entered  Rugby  at  an  early 
age,  and  thence  went  to  Trinity  College,  Oxford ;  but  he  left  the 
University  without  a  degree.  As  a  poet  be  stands  with  Leigh 
Hunt  between  the  age  of  Scott  and  Byron  and  the  age  of  Tenny- 
son and  Browning.  In  1795  his  first  work — a  volume  of  poems — 
appeared,  followed  early  in  the  present  century  by  a  translation 
into  Latin  of  Gebir,  one  of  his  own  English  poems.  Landor  had 
facility  in  classical  composition,  and  he  appeared  to  have  the 
power  of  transporting  himself  into  the  times  and  sentiments  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  This  is  clearly  seen  in  the  Heroic  Idyls  in  Latin 
verse ;  and  the  reproduction  of  Greek  thought  in  The  Hellenics  is 
one  of  the  most  successful  attempts  of  its  kind.  Shortly  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  the  poet  took  up  his  abode  on  the  Continent, 
where  he  resided  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  making  occasional 
visits  to  his  native  country.  The  republican  spirit  which  led  him 
to  take  part  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Spanish  rising  of  1808  continued 
to  burn  fiercely  to  the  last.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  defend 
tyrannicide,  and  boldly  offered  a  pension  to  the  widow  of  any  one  who 
would  murder  a  despot.  Between  1820  and  1830  he  was  engaged 
upon  his  greatest  work,  Imaginary  Conversations  of  Literary  Men 
and  Statesmen.     This  was  followed  in  1831  by  Poems,  Letters  by  a 


324  THOMAS     HOOD. 

Conservative,  Satire  on  Satirists  (1836),  Pentameron  and  Pentalojui 
(1837),  and  a  long  series  in  prose  and  poetry,  of  which  the  chief  are 
The  Hellenics  Enlarged  and  Completed,  Dry  Sticks  Fagoted,  and  The 
Last  Fruit  off  an  Old  Tree.  He  died  at  Florence,  an  exile  from  his 
country,  misunderstood  by  the  majority  of  his  countrymen,  but 
highly  appreciated  by  those  who  could  rightly  estimate  the  works 
he  has  left. 

Thomas  Hood  (1798-1845)  has  unfortunately  been  regarded  only 
as  a  humorist ;  but  "  pathos,  sensibility,  indignation  against  wrong, 
enthusiasm  for  human  improvement — all  these  were  his."  f  His 
pen  touched  alike  the  springs  of  laughter  and  the  sources  of  tears." 
He  was  associated  with  the  brilliant  circle  who  contributed  to  The 
London  Magazine ;  among  whom  were  Lamb,  llazlitt,  the  Smiths, 
and  De  Quincey.  His  magazine  articles  were  followed  by  Whims 
and  Oddities.  Hood  became  at  once  a  popular  writer ;  but  in  the 
midst  of  his  success  a  business  house  failed,  involving  him  in  its 
losses.  The  poet,  disdaining  to  take  refuge  in  bankruptcy,  emulated 
the  example  of  Scott,  and  determined  by  the  economy  of  a  life  in 
Germany  to  pay  off  the  debt  thus  involuntarily  contracted.  In  1835 
the  family  took  up  their  residence  in  Coblenz;  thence  removed 
toOstend;  and  returned  to  London  in  1840.  lie  was  editor  of 
the  New  Monthly  from  1841  until  1843,  when  the  first  number  of 
his  own  Magazine  was  issued.  A  pension  was  obtained  for  him  in 
1844  ;  and  he  died  in  the  following  year. 

Hood  has  given  little  indication  of  the  highest  imaginative 
faculty;  but  his  fancy  was  delicate,  and  full  of  graceful  play.  He 
possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  power  of  perceiving  the 
ridiculous  and  the  odd.  His  words  seemed  to  break  up  into  the 
queerest  syllables.  His  wit  was  caustic;  it  was  never  coarse.  An 
impurity  even  in  suggestion  cannot  be  found  in  Hood's  pa 
With  the  humor  was  associated  a  tender  pathos.  The  Death-bed 
(323)  is  one  of  the  most  affecting  little  poems  in  uva  language, 
and  is  equaled  by  another  of  his  balinds  entitled  Lon'x  Fcli/>i«\ 
Amongst  liis  larger  works,  the  Pint  <>f  (he  MtdiHnmur  Ftiru's  and 
Hero  and  Leander,  are  the  most  elaborate.  The  descriptive  parts 
in  both  are  lull  of  careful  observation  of  nature,  and  most  musical 
expression  of  her  beauties.  The  best  known  of  his  poems  are  The 
Bridge  of  Sighs  (322),  Fwjene  Aram,  and  the  Song  of  the  Shirt.     In 


BR  OWNINfi.  325 

them  the  comic  element  is  entirely  wanting.  His  poems  usually 
have  a  blending  of  humor  and  pathos;  and  in  their  humor  there 
is  an  earnest  purpose.  "  He  tempts  men  to  laugh,  and  then  leads 
them  to  pity  and  relieve.'' 

Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning.  The  most  eminent  poet  among 
women  is  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  (1809-1861).  She  was  the 
daughter  of  a  wealthy  merchant  of  London,  and  by  good  fortune 
received  what  had  been  allowed  to  few  of  her  sex,  a  good  educa- 
tion. In  the  Latin  and  Greek  literature  she  was  well  versed.  The 
delicacy  of  her  health  prevented  her  from  doing  the  toilsome  work 
of  the  most  laborious  students ;  yet  her  acquirements  were  so  great, 
that  in  her  youth  she  was  as  famous  for  her  learning  as  for  her 
genius.  Illness  did  not  keep  her  from  books.  By  a  varied  and 
extensive  course  of  reading,  and  by  her  meditation,  she  prepared 
herself  for  her  place  among  the  poets.  Her  first  acknowledged 
work  was  a  translation  of  the  Pwmetheus  Bound,  published  in  1833. 
Next  appeared  a  collection  of  poems,  in  1844.  In  1846  she  was 
married  to  Robert  Browning,  and  went  with  him  to  Italy  for  the 
improvement  of  her  health.  From  that  time  her  sympathies  with 
Italian  aspirations  were  so  intense  that  they  colored  nearly  all  of  her 
writings.  Her  Casa  Guidi  Windows  gives  her  impressions  of  what 
she  saw  of  Italian  life  from  her  home,  the  Casa  Guido,  in  Florence. 
Her  greatest  work,  and  in  the  estimation  of  some  critics  the  finest 
poem  of  the  present  century,  is  Aurora  Leigh.  This  she  herself 
pronounces  "  the  most  mature  of  my  works,  and  the  one  into 
which  my  highest  convictions  upon  Life  and  Art  have  entered." 
In  1856  she  left  England  for  the  last  time,  dying  at  Florence  in  1861. 

This  woman  of  emotion,  of  thought,  of  devout  spirit,  shut  in  her 
darkened  chamber,  reading  "almost  every  book  worth  reading  in 
almost  every  language,''  mingling  with  a  few  friends,  her  heart 
going  forth  in  sympathy  with  the  wretched  and  down-trodden, 
gathered  up  her  strength  and  put  her  soul  into  her  verse,  now  with 
all  the  passion  of  Aurora  Leigh,  and  now  in  tenderer  sonnets  full 
of  pathos  and  love.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  some  of 
her  writing  has  been  called  spasmodic.  Mrs.  Browning  has  not  the 
calm,  unfailing  flow  of  thought  and  feeling  found  in  Tennyson,  her 
only  modern  superior  in  England.  Her  style  is  often  rugged, 
unfinished,  and  at  times  utterly  without  rhythm. 


62b  HEM  AN S. 

The  sadness  pervading  all  the  writings  of  Mrs.  Browning  is  what 
might  be  expected  from  such  a  life  as  hers.  Her  own  idea  of  the 
poet's  work  seems  to  bear  this  view  :  "  Poetry  has  been  as  serious  a 
thing  to  me  as  life  itself;  and  life  has  been  a  very  serious  thing.  I 
never  mistook  pleasure  for  the  final  cause  of  poetry,  nor  leisure  for 
the  hour  of  the  poet.''  From  such  a  view  of  poetry  and  life,  we 
cannot  wonder  at  the  moral  purpose  found  in  all  her  writing  (324)- 

Mrs.  Felicia  Dorothea  Hemans  (1793-1835)  has  written  poems 
that  are  extensively  read.  Her  subjects  find  a  ready  admission  to 
the  hearts  of  all  classes.  The  style  is  graceful,  but  presenting,  as 
Scott  said,  "  too  many  flowers  for  the  fruit."  There  is  little  intil- 
lectual  or  emotional  force  about  her  poetry,  and  the  greater  part 
of  it  will  soon  be  forgotten.  A  few  of  the  smaller  pieces  will  per- 
haps remain  as  English  gems,  such  as  The  Graves  of  a  Household. 
and  the  Homes  of  England  (321). 


Iii  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

1.  Lord  By  roil. 

a.  Childe  Harold. 

b.  His  Dramatic  Works. 

c.  Don  Juan, 

d.  Angus's  Esti mate  of  Byron. 

2.  Thomas  Moore. 

a.  His  Poetry, 
h.  IDs  Proem  Writings, 
8*   Percy  Busslie  Shelley. 

4,  John  Keats. 

5.  Thomas  Campbell. 

a.  James  Henry  heigh  Hunt. 

7.  Walter  Savage  Lander, 

8.  Thomas  Uood. 

it.  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning* 

JO.    Mrs.  Felicia  Dorothea   Uemans, 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

HE  LAKE  SCHOOL— WORDSWORTH,  COLERIDGE  AND  SOUTHEY 
WILLIAM   WORDSWORTH. 

"Him  who  uttered  nothing  base."— Alfred  Tennyson. 

"  I  do  not  know  a  man  more  to  be  venerated  for  uprightness  of  heart  and  lofti- 
ness of  genius.1' — Walter  Scott. 

"  To  feel  for  the  first  time  a  communion  with  his  mind,  is  to  discover  loftier 
faculties  in  our  own."—  Thomas  N.  Talfourd. 

"  Whatever  the  world  may  think  of  me  or  of  my  poetry  is  now  of  little  conse- 
quence ;  but  one  thing  is  a  comfort  of  my  old  age,  that  none  of  my  works  written 
since  the  days  of  my  early  youth,  contains  a  line  which  I  should  wish  to  blot  out 
because  it  panders  to  the  baser  passions  of  our  nature.  This  is  a  comfort  to  me  ; 
I  can  do  no  mischief  by  my  works  when  I  am  gone."—  William  Wordsworth. 

"TT  T"ILLIAM  WORDSWORTH  (1770-1850).  the  founder  of  the 
V  V  so-cailed  Lake  School  of  poetry,  was  born  in  the  north  of 
England  (294300)-  He  was  left  an  orphan  very  early  in  life.  In 
his  ninth  year  he  was  sent  to  a  school  at  Hawkshead,  in  the  most 
picturesque  district  of  Lancashire,  where  his  love  for  the  beauties 
of  creation  was  rapidly  developed.  Atter  taking  his  degree  at 
Cambridge  in  1791,  he  went  to  France,  and  eagerly  embraced  the 
ideas  of  the  champions  of  liberty  in  that  country.  His  political 
sentiments,  however,  became  gradually  modified,  till  in  later  life 
they  settled  down  into  steady  conservatism  in  all  questions  of 
church  and  state.  In  1793  he  published  two  little  poems,  An 
Evening  Walk,  and  Descriptive  Sketches.  Their  metre  and  language 
are  of  the  school  of  Pope;  but  they  are  the  work  of  a  promising 
pupil,  and  not  of  a  master.  In  the  following  year  he  completed 
the  story  of  Salisbury  PI  tin ;  or,  Guilt  and  Sorrow.  In  regard 
to  time  it  is  separated  from  the  Descriptive  Sketches  by  a  span,  but 
\n  merit  they  are  parted  by  a  gulf,      lie  had  ceased  to  write  in  the 


328  WORDSWORTH. 

style  of  Pope;  and  composed  in  the  stanza  of  his  later  favorite, 
Spenser.  There  is  an  exquisite  simplicity  and  polish  in  the  lan- 
guage. In  his  twenty-sixth  year,  just  as  he  was  finding  it  necessary 
to  (Miter  some  regular  business  for  the  purpose  of  earning  a  liveli- 
hood, he  found  himself  placed  in  what  was  affluence  to  him,  by 
receiving  a  legacy  of  £900  from  his  friend  Raisley  Calvert,  with  the 
request  that  he  would  devote  himself  to  literary  work.  Thoughts 
of  the  law,  and  attempts  to  earn  money  by  writing  for  the  news- 
papers were  abandoned.  He  settled  with  his  sister  in  a  quiet 
country  place  in  Somersetshire,  and  began  his  long  devotion  to  the 
muse.  His  second  experiment  was  the  tragedy  of  The  Borderers,  a 
work  considered  an  unqualified  failure  when  it  first  appeared.  In 
1797  Coleridge  went  to  live  in  the  neighborhood,  and  formed  a 
close  friendship  with  Wordsworth  and  his  sister.  The  following 
year  they  started  on  a  tour  in  Germany.  To  furnish  funds  for  the 
journey  they  published  a  volume  together,  entitled  Lyrical  Ballads. 
The  first  poem  was  Coleridge's  Ancient  Mariner,  and  the  other 
pieces  were  by  Wordsworth.  Of  these,  three  or  four  were  in 
Wordsworth's  finest  manner ;  but  they  did  not  save  his  name  from 
ridicule  and  censure. 

Returning  to  England,  Wordsworth  and  his  sister  settled  at 
Grasmere,  in  the  Lake  District.  Coleridge  and  Southey  resided 
near  them.  From  this  fact  they  came  to  be  spoken  of  as  the  Lake 
School.  The  name,  originally  applied  contemptuously,  came  to  be 
the  distinguishing  title  of  these  friends.  Wordsworth  now  set 
himself  to  work  to  inculcate  his  peculiar  views  of  poetry.  Not 
disheartened  by  the  unpopularity  of  his  first  attempt,  he  promptly 
issued  a  new  edition  of  Lyrical  Ballads,  adding  thirty-seven  phces 
to  the  original  collection.  At  this  time  he  was  working  on  I  Mo- 
graphical  poem,  Tfie  Prelude,  published  a  half-cent ury  after  its 
composition. 

A  debt  of  £8500  due  to  his  father  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was 
paid  to  the  poet  in  1802.  This  increase  of  his  fortune  enabled  him 
U)  marry.  In  1807  he  published  two  new  volumes  of  Poems,  con- 
taining the  Song  at  the  Feast  of  Brougham  Castle,  and  many  more  of 
his  choicest  pieces.  Here  appeared  his  ftnM  sonnets,  and  several 
of  them  arc  still  ranked  among  his  happiest  efforts.  Wordsworth's 
next  publication  was  in  prose.  His  indignation  arose  at  the  grasp- 
ing tyranny  of  Napoleon  ;  and   in   1809  he  put  forth  a  pamphlet 


WORDSWORTH. ,  329 

against  the  Convention  of  Cintra.  The  sentiments  were  stirring, 
but  the  manner  of  conveying  them  was  not,  and  his  protest  passed 
unheeded.  His  great  work,  The  Excursion,  appeared  in  1814. 
This  is  a  fragment  of  a  projected  great  moral  epic,  discussing  the 
mightiest  questions  concerning  God,  nature,  and  man,  our  moral 
constitution,  our  duties,  and  our  hopes.  Its  dramatic  interest  is 
exceedingly  small ;  its  structure  is  very  faulty ;  and  the  characters 
represented  in  it  are  devoid  of  life  and  probability.  On  the  other 
hand,  so  sublime  are  the  subjects  discussed,  so  lofty  is  their  tone, 
and  so  deep  a  glow  of  humanity  is  perceptible  throughout,  that 
no  honest  reader  can  study  this  composition  without  reverence  and 
delight. 

The  White  Doe  of  Rylstone,  published  in  1815,  is  Wordsworth's 
only  narrative  poem  of  any  length.  The  incidents  are  of  a  simple 
and  mournful  kind.  Peter  Bell  was  published  in  1819,  and  was 
received  with  a  shout  of  ridicule.  The  poet  stated  in  the  dedica- 
tion that  the  work  had  been  completed  twenty  years,  and  that  he 
had  continued  correcting  it  in  the  interval  to  render  it  worthy  of  a 
permanent  place  in  our  national  literature.  It  is  meant  to  be 
serious,  and  is  certainly  not  facetious,  but  there  is  so  much  farcical 
absurdity  of  detail  and  language  that  the  reader  revolts.  Between 
1830  and  1840  the  tide  which  floated  him  into  favor  rose  to  its 
height.  Scott  and  Byron  had  in  succession  entranced  the  world. 
They  had  now  withdrawn,  and  no  third  king  arose  to  demand 
homage.  It  was  in  the  lull  that  the  less  thrilling  notes  of  the  Lake 
bard  obtained  a  hearing.  It  was  during  this  time  that  he  pub- 
lished his  Ecclesiastical  Sonnets  and  Yarrow  Revisited :  and  in  1842 
he  brought  forth  a  complete  collection  of  his  poems.  His  fame 
was  now  firmly  established.  On  the  death  of  Southey  in  1843  he 
was  made  Poet  Laureate.  He  died  April  23,  1850,  when  he  had 
just  completed  his  eightieth  year. 

The  Defects  and  Merits  of  His  Poetry.  The  poetry  of  Words- 
worth has  passed  through  two  phases  of  criticism  ;  in  the  first  his 
defects  were  chiefly  noted,  and  in  the  second  his  merits.  We  have 
arrived  at  the  third  era,  when  the  majority  of  readers  are  just  to 
both.  A  fair  estimate  of  Wordsworth's  poetry  is  given  by  an  acute 
writer  in  the  Quarterly  Review :  *  "  It  is  constantly  asserted  that 
*  Vol.  XCII.,  p.  233,  seq. 


330  WO  It  I)  S  WORTH. 

he  effected  a  reform  in  the  language  of  poetry,  that  he  found  the 
public  bigoted  to  a  vicious  and  flowery  diction,  which  seemed  t'» 
mean  a  great  deal  and  really  meant  nothing,  and  that  he  led  then 
back  to  sense  and  simplicity.  The  claim  appears  to  us  to  be 
a  fanciful  assumption,  refuted  by  the  facts  of  literary  history. 
Feebler  poetasters  were  no  doubt  read  when  Wordsworth  began  to 
write  than  would  now  command  an  audience,  however  small ;  but 
they  had  no  real  hold  upon  the  public,  and  Cowper  was  the  only 
popular  bard  of  the  day.  His  masculine  and  unadorned  English 
was  relished  in  every  cultivated  circle  in  the  land,  and  Wordsworth 
was  the  child  and  not  the  father  of  a  reaction,  which,  after  all, 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated.  Goldsmith  was  the  most  celebrated 
of  Cowper's  immediate  predecessors,  and  it  will  not  be  pretended 
that  The  Deserted  Village  and  The  Traveller  are  amoug  the  specimens 
of  inane  phraseology.  Burns  had  died  before  Wordsworth  had 
attracted  notice.  Th«  wonderful  Peasant's  performances  were  ad- 
mired by  none  more  than  by  Wordsworth  himself:  were  they  not 
already  far  more  popular  than  the  Lake-poet's  have  ever  becfl> 
oreverwiHbe?  ....  Whatever  influence  Wordsworth  may 
have  exercised  on  poetic  style,  be  it  great  or  small,  was  by  deviat- 
ing in  practice  from  the  principles  of  composition  for  which  be 
contended.  Both  his  theory,  and  the  poems  which  illustrate  it. 
continue  to  this  hour  to  be  all  but  universally  condemned.  He 
resolved  to  write  as  the  lower  orders  talked;  and  though  where 
the  poor  are  the  speakers  it  would  be  in  accordance  with  strict 
dramatic  propriety,  the  system  would  not  be  tolerated  in  serious 
poetry.  Wordsworth's  rule  did  not  stop  at  the  wording  of  dia- 
logues. He  maintained  that  the  colloquial  language  of  rustic ■  MMtt 
the  most  philosophical  and  enduring  which  the  dictionary  affords. 

and  the  fittest  for  verse  of  every  description When 

his  finest  verse  is  brought  to  the  test  of  his  principle,  they 
agree  no  better  than  light  and  darkness.  Here  is  his  way  of 
describing  the  effects  of  the  pealing  organ  in  King's  College 
Chapel,  with  its  'self-poised  roof,  scooped  Into  ten  thousand  cells: ' 

1  But  from  the  arms  of  silence— list  1     O  list    - 
The  made  burstcth  into  second  lit".' ; 
The  note*  luxuriate,  every  itone  is  kissed 

Willi  -omul,  orgBOel  of  sound    in  mazy  strife!' 
This  is  to  write  like  a  splendid   poet,  but  it  is  not  to  write  as  ru* 


WORDSWORTH,      COLERIDGE.  .331 

tics  talk.  A  secoud  canon  laid  down  by  Wordsworth  was,  that 
poetic  diction  is,  or  ought  to  be,  in  all  respects  the  same  with  the 
language  of  prose ;  and  as  prose  has  a  wide  range,  and  numbers 
among  its  triumphs  such  luxuriant  eloquence  as  that  of  Jeremy 
Taylor,  the  principle,  if  just,  would  be  no  less  available  for  the 
advocates  of  ornamental  verse  than  for  the  defence  of  the  homely 
style  of  the  Lyrical  Ballads.  But  the  proposition  is  certainly  too 
broadly  stated  ;  and,  though  the  argument  holds  good  for  the  ad- 
versary, because  the  phraseology  which  is  not  too  rich  for  prose 
can  never  be  considered  too  tawdry  for  poetry,  yet  it  will  not  war- 
rant the  conclusions  of  Wordsworth,  that  poetry  should  never  rise 
above  prose,  or  disdain  to  descend  to  its  lowest  level." 


The  following  references  note  interesting  discussions  of  Wordsworth  and  hid 
poetry:  Reed's  British  Poets,  Lecture  XV.,— Wilson,  in  the  British  Essayists,— The 
North  American  Beview,Vo\.  C,  p.  508,— Craik's  English  Literature  and  Language, 
Vol.  II.,  p.  453,— De  Quincey's  Essays  on  the  Poets,— Coleridge's  Biographia  Lit- 
eraria,  Chap.  XIV.,— Hazlitt's  Lectures  on  the  English  Poets,— Jeffrey,  in  the 
British  Essayists,— Talfourd,  in  the  British  Essayists,— Taine's  English  Literature, 

Vol.  n. 


Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge  (1772-1834).  Carlyle  paints  Cole- 
ridge's portrait  in  these  words  :  "  Brow7  and  head  were  round  and 
of  massive  weight ;  but  the  face  was  flabby  and  irresolute.  The 
deep  eyes,  of  a  light  hazel,  were  as  full  of  sorrow  as  of  inspiration ; 
confused  pain  looked  mildly  from  them,  as  in  a  kind  of  mild 
astonishment.  The  whole  figure  and  air,  good  and  amiable  other- 
wise, might  be  called  flabby  and  irresolute  ;  expressive  of  weakness 
under  possibility  of  strength.  He  hung  loosely  on  his  limbs,  with 
knees  bent,  and  stooping  attitude ;  in  walking,  he  rather  shuffled 
than  decisively  stepped ;  and  a  lady  once  remarked,  he  never  could 
fix  which  side  of  the  garden-wTalk  would  suit  him  best,  but  con- 
tinually shifted,  in  cork-screw  fashion,  and  kept  trying  both.  A 
heavy-laden,  high-aspiring,  and  surely  much-suffering  man." 

This  strange  man  had  a  strange  childhood.  At  three  years  old 
he  read  the  Bible ;  at  six  he  had  devoured  "  Belisarius,"  "Robinson 
Crusoe,"  "Philip  Quarll,"  and  the  *?  Arabian  Nights."  In  1782  he 
was  entered  as  a  pupil  at  Christ's  Hospital,  where,  though  he  won 
the  position  of  Senior  Grecian,  or  first  scholar,  his  life  was,  on  the 
whole,  a  dreary  one.     He  spent  his  time  in  moping  and  reading. 


332.  COLERIDGE. 

By  turns  the  restless  energy  and  roving  inclination  of  the  inspired 
44  Charity  boy  "  settled  upon  shoemaking,  surgery,  and  metaphysics 
a3  a  mean?  of  escaping  school  and  getting  a  living;  but  the  judi- 
cious Doctor  Bowyer  flogged  out  each  determination,  with  an  extra 
cut  for  his  being  such  an  ugly  fellow.  In  1791  he  went  to  Jesu9 
College,  Cambridge.  A  debt  of  less  than  £100  drove  him  from  the 
University  in  the  second  year.  He  enlisted  in  the  dragoons,  under 
the  name  of  Comberbacke.  After  four  months1  service,  his  friends 
procured  his  discharge,  and  he  returned  to  Cambridge,  leaving 
again  in  June,  1794,  without  taking  a  degree.  He  formed  a  friend- 
ship with  Southey,  and  together  they  planned  a  model  republic, 
to  be  located  on  the  Susquehanna  and  called  the  "  Pantisocracy  "  ; 
but  when  it  was  found  that  not  one  of  the  directors  could  pay  his 
passage  to  America,  the  plan  was  abandoned.  In  1795  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  Flicker,  a  sister  of  Southey 's  wife,  and  during  the  first 
three  years  of  his  marriage,  he  lived  in  Wordsworth's  neighbor- 
hood. In  1796  he  took  opium  to  allay  severe  neuralgic  pain,  and 
this  laid  the  foundation  of  a  habit  which  was  to  exert  a  baneful 
influence  over  his  life.  To  this  period  belong  the  ten  numbers  of 
the  Watchman  and  the  publication  of  the  Juvenile  Poems.  In  17!>S 
he  wrote  his  share  in  the  Lyrical  Ballads.  About  this  time,  the 
Wedgwoods,  of  Staffordshire,  settled  on  him  £150  a  year  for  life. 
This  made  him  independent  of  the  "  bread-and-cheese  question" 
and  enabled  him  to  visit  Germany,  where  he  studied  the  language 
and  heard  lectures  at  GOttingen.  After  his  return  he  went  to  live 
in  the  Lake  District,  near  Wordsworth  and  Southey.  In  1804  he 
went  to  Malta  for  his  health,  and  became  confirmed  in  the  use  of 
opium.  From  1801  to  1816  he  produced  only  one  work  of  im- 
portance, The  Friend,  a  periodical  which  appeared  in  numbers 
from  June,  1809,  to  March,  1810.  In  1814  he  tried  to  lecture  in 
Bristol,  but  he  was  completely  under  the  dominion  of  opium,  and 
was  unable  to  command  his  powTers,  or  meet  his  engagements.  He 
struggled  against  his  infirmity  with  all  the  force  which  his  nerve- 
less will  could  bring  to  bear;  but  the  odds  were  hard  against  him. 
He  wrote  in  reply  to  the  remonstrances  of  his  old  friend  and  pub- 
lisher, Cottle  :  "  You  have  poured  oil  in  the  raw  and  festering 
wounds  of  an  old  friend's  conscience,  Cottle  1  but  it  is  oil  v\" 
vitriol!"  ''I  have  prayed,  with  drops  of  agony  on  my  brow, 
trembling  not  only  before  the  justice  of  my  Master,  but  even  be  for* 


COLERIDGE.  333 

the  mercy  of  my  Redeemer  :  '  I  gave  thee  so  many  talents ;  what 
hast  thou  done  with  them?'"  At  last  he  became  convinced  that 
single-handed  he  was  unequal  to  the  struggle,  and  in  1816,  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Gillman,  a  physician,  where 
he  died  July  25,  1834. 

It  ought  never  to  be  forgotten  that  the  struggles  of  the  man 
were  often  responsible  for  the  sins  of  the  author.  At  fifteen,  Cole- 
ridge was  a  master  of  abstract  thought,  but  had  lost  the  ability  to 
tread  in  beaten  paths — to  use  common  methods ;  at  twenty-four,  he 
displayed  wonderful  powers  of  genius,  but  they  soon  passed  into 
the  long  eclipse  of  a  diseased  will.  And  yet,  from  fifteen  years 
old  to  the  day  of  his  death,  this  weak  character,  this  irresolute 
man,  was  a  power  in  his  own  country  and  age ;  nor  has  his  influ- 
ence been  unfelt  in  ours.  The  wonderful  charm  of  his  conversation, 
the  spell  of  his  enthusiasm,  influenced  the  opinions  of  all  the  young 
men  of  his  day  who  were  worth  influencing.  Carlyle,  Julius  Hare, 
John  Sterling,  De  Quincey,  and  John  Stuart  Mill  bear  testimony  to 
the  good  which  he  accomplished  in  the  midst  of  the  disaster  of  his 
own  life. 

His  Literary  Character.  The  literary  character  of  Coleridge 
resembles  some  vast  but  unfinished  palace  ;  all  is  gigantic,  beautiful 
and  rich,  but  nothing  is  complete,  nothing  compact.  He  was  all 
his  days,  from  his  youth  to  his  death,  laboring,  meditating,  pro- 
jecting ;  and  yet  all  that  he  has  left  us  bears  marks  of  imperfection. 
His  mind  was  dreamy,  his  genius  was  multiform,  many-sided,  and 
for  this  reason,  perhaps,  could  not  at  once  seize  upon  the  right 
point  of  view.  No  man,  probably,  ever  thought  more,  and  more 
intensely,  than  Coleridge ;  few  ever  possessed  a  vaster  treasury  of 
learning  and  knowledge  ;  and  yet  how  few  of  his  works  are  in  any 
way  worthy  of  the  undoubted  majesty  of  his  genius !  Materials, 
indeed,  he  has  left  us  in  enormous  quantity — a  store  of  thoughts 
and  principles,  golden  masses  of  reason,  either  painfully  sifted  from 
the  rubbish  of  obscure  and  forgotten  authors,  or  dug  up  from  the 
rich  depths  of  his  own  mind ;  but  these  are  still  in  the  state  of  raw 
materials,  or  only  partially  worked. 

But  the  literary  character  of  Coleridge  must  be  judged  by  its 
manifestations  in  four  very  different  departments  of  thought, 
while  in  each  of  these  departments  he  has  left  only  fragments  by 


334  coler  I  DG  B. 

which  to  judge  him.  As  poet,  critic,  philosopher,  and  theologian, 
he  has  added  to  che  force  of  English  thinking  and  to  the  beauty 
of  English  expression  what  it  could  ill  afford  to  lose. 

The  Poet.  His  poetry  seems  only  a  prophecy  of  what  he 
might  have  done,  and  yet  some  of  it  is  what  he  alone  could  do. 
Fancy,  beautiful  imagery,  exquisite  versification,  are  characteristic 
of  nearly  all  Coleridge's  poems,  and  now  and  then  a  daring  flight 
of  hi3  imagination  is  attended  by  the  boldest  measures.  The  best 
known  of  his  poems  are  Religions  Musings,  Lines  on  Sunriae  in  the 
Valley  of  Ohamouni,  Love,  Kubla  Khan,  The  Ancient  Mariner,  and 
Christabel.  His  translation  of  Wallenstein  has  the  reputation  of 
being  the  finest  translation  in  the  English  language ;  and  yet  it  fell 
almost  dead  from  the  press  in  1799. 

The  Critic.  As  a  critic,  Coleridge  was  the  leader  in  the  reaction 
against  the  deadening  influence  of  the  theories  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  Edinburgh  critics  had  almost  persuaded  the  English 
readers  to  believe  that  Pope  was  a  better  poet  than  Shakespeare. 
In  such  a  time,  a  new  and  original  work  needs  a  doughty  cham- 
pion to  defend  it  against  the  assaults  of  criticism.  But  for  Cole- 
ridge, Wordsworth  might  have  been  another  Keats.  Coleridge  was 
a  sympathetic  man.  In  Wordsworth's  first  attempts,  he  felt  the 
poetry  which  Jeffrey  could  not  see,  and  he  set  himself  at  work 
to  find  out  the  principles  which  must  alike  underlie  his  interpre- 
tations and  Jeffrey's  rules.  These  he  set  in  order,  and  at  once 
magnified  the  philosophy  of  criticism  and  freed  literature  from  the 
bondage  to  which  such  men  as  Jeffrey  had  reduced  it.  Coleridge 
was  the  first  who  taught  that  a  successful  criticism  of  Shakespeare 
must  depend  not  upon  dogmatic  judgment,  but  upon  reverent  in- 
vestigation;  and  thus  he  brought  it  about  that  Englishmen  can 
admire  Shakespeare  without  the  fear  of  the  "dramatic  unities" 
before  their  eyes. 

The  Philosopher.  As  a  philosopher,  Coleridge  began  by  being 
a  materialist  and  a  Whig, — he  ended  as  a  follower  of  Kant  and  a 
Tory.  His  theories  of  government  tad  <>l"  mental  science  are  eliar- 
acterized  by  the  same  sympathy,  the  same  acuteness,  and  the  same 
lack  of  method  which  mark  his  other  thinking,     Mr.  Mill  praises 


COLERIDGE,     SOU  THEY.  335 

his  philosophy  as  one  of  moral  goodness,  and  true  insight.  The 
Friend,  the  Aids  to  Reflection,  the  Church  and  State,  and  the  Lay 
Sermons,  are  the  sources  from  which  most  of  his  opinions  on  these 
subjects  are  to  be  gathered. 

The  Theologian.  As  a  theologian,  Coleridge  made  perhaps  the 
most  definite  and  sustained  effort  of  his  life ;  but  his  thought  is  so 
fine-spun,  and  his  expression  is  so  involved  that  it  is  very  hard  to 
understand  him.  In  early  youth  a  Unitarian,  he  came  to  be  a  firm 
believer  in  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Evangelical  Christian  Church. 
It  is  in  his  religious  philosophy  that  he  shows  his  nearest  approach 
to  the  common  method  and  practical  doctrine  of  ordinary  men; 
for  his  own  experience  had  taught  him  that  a  man's  thinking  may 
have  little  influence  on  his  action.  A  fragmentary  poet,  a  careless 
critic,  an  unscientific  philosopher,  a  mystical  theologian,  and  an 
irresolute  man,  "  he  suffered  an  almost  life-long  punishment  for 
his  errors,  whilst  the  world  at  large  has  the  unwithering  fruits  of 
his  labors,  and  his  genius,  and  his  sufferings." 

Robert  Southey  (1774-1843)  was  born  at  Bristol,  where  his 
father  carried  on  the  business  of  a  draper  (308^311).  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  he  was  sent  to  the  famous  Westminster  School.  After 
spending  four  years  there,  he  was  expelled  for  writing  an  article 
against  flogging  in  public  schools  and  publishing  it  in  a  periodical 
conducted  by  the  boys.  The  following  year  he  went  to  Oxford.  His 
friends  wished  him  to  take  orders  in  the  church,  but  his  religious 
opinions  prevented  him.  He  lingered  at  Oxford,  until  Coleridge  ap- 
peared with  his  scheme  of  "  Pantisocracy.1'  Quitting  Oxford,  Southey 
attempted  to  raise  funds  for  the  enterprise  by  authorship,  and  in 
1794  published  a  small  volume  of  poems,  which  brought  neither 
fame  nor  profit.  His  chief  reliance,  however,  was  on  his  epic 
poem  Joan  of  Arc,  for  which  Joseph  Cottle,  the  patron  of  Coleridge, 
offered  him  fifty  guineas.  After  spending  six  months  in  Spain,  he 
returned  to  England,  and  in  1795  began  a  life  of  patient  literary 
toil.  He  had  from  the  outset  an  allowance  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  a  year,  yet  he  was  constantly  on  the  verge  of  poverty, 
and  not  even  his  philosophy  and  hopefulness  were  always  proof 
against  the  difficulties  of  his  position.  In  1804  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Cumberland,  where  he  continued  to  reside  for  the 


336  SOUTHET. 

remainder  of  his  life.  Coleridge  and  Wordsworth  were  already 
there.  From  being  a  skeptic  and  a  republican,  South ey  became  a 
firm  believer  in  Christianity,  and  a  staunch  supporter  of  the 
English  Church  and  Constitution.  In  1813  he  was  appointed  poet- 
laureate;  *  and  in  1835  received  a  pension  of  three  hundred  pounds 
a  year  from  the  government.  During  the  last  four  years  of  his  life 
he  had  sunk  into  a  state  of  hopeless  imbecility.  He  died  March 
21,  1843. 

Southey's  industry  was  prodigious.  His  life  was  very  quiet, 
and  all  his  time  was  given  to  literary  labor.  One  of  his  letters  to  a 
friend  tells  how  his  days  were  spent:  "Three  pages  of  history 
after  breakfast ;  then  to  transcribe  and  copy  for  the  press,  or  to 
make  any  selections  and  biographies,  or  what  else  suits  my  humor 
dll  dinner-time.  From  dinner-time  till  tea  I  read,  write  letters, 
see  the  newspaper,  and  very  often  indulge  in  a  siesta.  After  tea 
[  go  to  poetry,  and  correct  and  re  write  and  copy  till  I  am  tired; 
and  then  turn  to  anything  else  till  supper.  And  this  is  my  life." 
The  list  of  his  writings  numbers  one  hundred  and  nine  volumes.  In 
addition  to  these  he  contributed  to  the  Annual  Review  fifty-two 
articles,  to  the  Foreign  Quarterly  three,  to  the  Quarterly  ninety-four. 
The  composition  of  these  works  was  a  small  part  of  the  labor  they 
Involved  :  they  are  all  full  of  research. 

His  Poetry.  Southey's  success  as  a  poet  fell  far  short  of  hit 
ambition.  Joan  of  Arc,  a  juvenile  production,  was  received  with 
*&vor  by  most  of  the  critical  journals  on  account  of  its  republican 
doctrines.  Modoc,  completed  in  1799,  was  not  published  till  1805. 
Upon  this  poem  he  was  contented  to  rest  his  fame.  It  is  founded 
on  one  of  the  legends  connected  with  the  early  history  of  America. 
Madoc,  a  Welsh  prince  of  the  twelfth  century,  is  represented  as 
making  the  discovery  of  the  Western  world.  His  contests  with 
the  Mexicans,  and  the  ultimate  conversion  of  that  people  from  their 
cruel  idolatry,  form  its  main  action.  Though  the  poem  is  crowded 
with  scenes  of  more  than  possible  splendor, — of  more  than  human 
cruelty,  courage,  and  superstition, — the  effect  is  languid.  Tlutlalm 
was  published  in  1801,  and  the  Our$$  <>/  K,h,ima  in  1810.  Tin  first 
is  a  tale  of  Arabian  enchantment,  full  of  mtgicitnt,  dragons,  and 
monsters;  and  in  the  second  the  poet  has  selected  for  his  ground- 

*  The  honor  wa*  offered  to  Walter  Scott  at  this  time,  and  \w  declined  it. 


SOUTHEY.  337 

work  the  still  more  unmanageable  mythology  of  the  Hindoos.  The 
poems  are  written  in  irregular  and  wandering  rhythm — the  Thaldba 
altogether  without  rhyme ;  and  the  language  abounds  in  an  affected 
.simplicity,  and  in  obtrusions  of  vulgar  and  puerile  phraseology. 
Kehama  was  followed,  at  an  interval  of  four  years,  by  Roderick,  the 
Last  of  the  Goths,  a  poem  in  blank  verse,  more  modest  and  credible 
than  its  predecessors. 

The  tone  of  Southey's  poems  is  exaggerated.  His  personages, 
like  his  scenes,  have  something  unreal,  phantom-like,  dream'y  about 
them.  His  robe  of  inspiration  sits  gracefully  and  majestically  upon 
him,  but  it  is  too  voluminous  in  its  folds,  and  too  heavy  in  its 
texture  for  the  motion  of  real  existence. 

His  Prose.  Southey's  prose  works  are  valuable  on  account  of 
their  learning.  The  Life  of  Nelson  (311),  written  to  furnish  young 
seamen  with  a  simple  narrative  of  the  exploits  of  England's  great- 
est naval  hero,  has  perhaps  never  been  surpassed  for  the  perfection 
of  its  style.  In  his  principal  works—  The  Boole  of  the  Church,  The 
Lives  of  the  British  Admirals,  The  Life  of  Wesley,  a  History  of  Brazil, 
and  a  History  of  the  Peninsular  War — we  find  the  same  clear,  vigor- 
ous English ;  we  find  also  the  strong  prejudice  and  political  and 
literary  partiality,  which  detract  from  his  many  excellent  qualities 
as  a  writer  and  as  a  man. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

The    Lake    School  —  Wordsworth,    Coleridge,   and 
Southey. 

1.  William  Wordsworth. 

a.  The  Defects  and  Merits  of  His  Poetry. 

2.  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 

a.  His  Literary  Character. 

b.  The  Poet. 

c.  The  Critic. 

d.  The  Philosopher. 

e.  The  Theologian. 
S.  Robert  Southey. 

a.  His  Poetry. 

b.  His  Prose, 

1$ 


CHAPTHB   XXYH. 

THE  ENGLISH   LITERATURE  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

^IHE  early  years  of  the  present  century  were  years  of  conflict 
and  excitement.  The  mind  was  wrought  to  the  highest  pitch, 
now  of  fear,  and  now  of  triumph.  England  fought  for  the  liberties 
of  Europe;  at  times  the  struggle  seemed  to  be  for  her  own  exist- 
ence. The  literature  of  a  people  always  reflects  something  of  the 
prevalent  tone  of  its  age,  and  we  may  therefore  expect  to  find  the 
chief  compositions  of  the  first  thirty  years  of  this  century  marked 
by  intense  feeling.  There  is  no  other  age  in  English  history  which 
exhibits  such  an  array  of  masters  of  song.  At  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  George  III.,  in  1820,  there  were  living  in  England  ten  poets 
whose  writings  commanded  the  attention  of  all  English  readers. 
Then  Crabbe,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Southey,  Scott,  Campbell, 
Moore,  Byron,  Shelley,  and  Keats  were  stars  in  the  literary  firma- 
ment. They  gave  voice  to  the  passionate  states  of  the  mind  of 
society  which  demand  expression  in  song.  "  The  Victorian  age" 
following  this  group  of  poets  is  distinguished  by  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  dignified  writers  of  prose.  The  calmer  inquiries  into 
politics,  philosophy,  art,  and  physical  science,  have  been  prosecuted 
ii.  the  more  tranquil  period. 

Poetry  is  the  earlier  expression  of  every  literature.  The  first 
writers  whose  works  are  preserved  are  the  writers  of  verse.  The 
rhythm  of  their  song,  the  pictures  of  their  excited  fancy,  the  stories 
they  tell,  catch  and  enchain  the  popular  attention.  Until  our  cen- 
tury, the  patronage  of  the  English  court,  the  heanie-t  sympathies 
of  the  English  scholar,  and  the  applause  of  the  people  had  been 
given  to  the  writer  of  song.  Prose  is  now  in  the  ascendant  over 
poetry.  An  h'ustration  of  the  fact  is  at  hand.  Two  elaborate 
works  were  recently  published  in  England  :  both  written  to 
face  the  test  of  scholarly  criticism,  and  to  gain  the  interest  of  the 


THE     NINETEENTH     CENTURY.  339 

common  readers.  One  is  in  prose;  it  gives  strange  opinions  on 
puzzling  historical  questions,  and  packs  twelve  duodecimo  volumes. 
The  other  has  the  fascination  of  rhythmic  verse,  of  scholarship,  of 
mythical  story,  and  has  conceded  to  it  a  high  place  among  the 
masterly  poems  of  the  century.  But  Morris's  Earthly  Paradise 
has  a  limited  sale,  and  comparatively  few  readers;  while  every 
public  library,  and  thousands  of  private  libraries,  have  well-thumbed 
copies  of  Froude's  History  of  England.  It  is  not  that  the  culture 
of  the  poet  has  declined ;  the  tact  of  the  writer  of  prose  and  the 
though tfulness  of  the  masses  of  readers  have  improved.  Spenser, 
Milton  and  Byron  are  not  read  as  they  once  were.  What  has 
brought  about  the  change  ?  There  is  the  same  lofty  theme,  there  is 
the  same  resounding  line,  there  is  the  same  poetic  inspiration.  But 
the  taste  and  thought  of  the  readers  have  changed.  They  are  in 
sympathy  with  what  -is  called  the  practical  spirit  of  the  age.  They 
lead  to  the  instructive  novel,  to  books  of  travel,  to  biography,  to 
history.  They  compel  readers  to  seek  for  information,  as  well  as 
for  entertainment  and  elegant  culture  in  literature. 

Forces  which  have  wrought  this  change  in  popular  thought  and 
taste  should  be  noted.  (1.)  The  newspaper,  the  mightiest  social 
force  of  this  century,  by  publishing  the  interesting  facts  of  the  day, 
has  created  a  desire  for  information,  and  has  led  thoughtful  people 
to  search  after  knowledge  of  facts  in  history,  in  commerce,  in 
geography.  (2.)  The  growth  of  manufactures,  and  the  improve- 
ments in  the  methods  of  agriculture,  by  increasing  the  number  of 
prosperous  workmen  has  increased  the  number  of  alert  thinkers. 
(3.)  Extended  intervals  of  peace  havebeen  favorable  to  the  sobriety 
of  national  thought.  (4.)  The  general  acquaintance  of  English 
scholars  with  the  thought  and  literature  of  other  nations  has 
broadened  and  deepened  the  English  thinking.  And  (5.)  fitted 
to  the  more  practical  thought  of  our  time,  is  the  fact  that  the 
writers  of  the  previous  century  had  developed  an  artistic  style  in 
prose,  so  that  the  prose-writers  of  to-day  have  at  their  command 
such  charms  of  expression  as  were  not  dreamed  of  even  in  the 
days  of  John  Milton  and  Jeremy  Taylor. 

The  writers  of  this  century,  then,  are  supplying  what  is  de- 
manded by  an  increasing  number  of  thoughtful  readers,  and  in 
so  doing,  are  marking  out  a  literary  epoch.  The  chief  external 
influence  has  come  from  Germany.    Coleridge  introduced  it  largely, 


340       THE    NEW     LITERATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

and  he  has  been  followed  in  the  work  by  Thomas  Carlyle.  In 
former  pages  we  have  spoken  of  the  Elizabethan  age  as  under 
Italian  influence,  of  the  Augustan  age  as  under  French  influence, 
and  our  age,  doubtless,  will  be  regarded  by  the  future  historian  as 
the  age  of  German  influence. 

The  New  Literature  of  History.  During  this  century  greater 
progress  has  been  made  in  History  than  in  any  other  department 
of  letters.  A  new  impulse  was  given  to  the  study  by  the  publica- 
tion of  the  first  volume  of  Niebuhr's  Roman  History  in  Germany, 
in  1811.  This  remarkable  work  taught  scholars  not  only  to  esti- 
mate more  accurately  the  value  of  the  original  authorities,  but  also 
to  enter  more  fully  into  the  spirit  of  antiquity,  and  to  think  and 
feel  as  the  Romans  felt  and  thought.  In  the  treatment  of  Modern 
History  the  advance  has  been  equally  striking.  An  historical  sense 
has  grown  up.  A  writer  on  any  period  of  modern  history  is  now 
expected  to  produce  in  support  of  his  facts  the  testimony  of  credi- 
ble contemporary  witnesses ;  while  the  public  records  of  most  of 
the  great  European  nations,  now  rendered  accessible  to  students, 
have  imposed  upon  historians  a  labor,  and  opened  sources  of  in- 
formation, quite  unknown  to  the  historical  writers  of  the  preceding 
century. 

Bishop  Connop  Thirlwall  and  George  Grote  are  the  most 
eminent  English  writers  upon  Ancient  History,  both  having 
produced  Histories  of  Greece,  superior  to  any  existing  in  other 
European  languages.  Thirlwall's  work  is  dry  and  unattractive  to 
the  general  reader;  but  it  is  scientific,  thorough,  ami  liberal  in  its 
spirit.  Grote's  history  was  written  under  peculiar  circumstances. 
The  author  was  a  banker,  and  during  part  of  his  career  he  was  an 
active  radical  politician.  His  sentiments  were  democratic,  and  his 
sympathies,  throughout  his  work,  arc  heartily  enlisted  on  the  side 
of  the  Athenian  democracy.  He  had  not  receired  a  university 
education.  While  a  clerk  in  a  banking-house,  he  set  himself  at 
work  to  master  the  Greek  language  and  literature,  to  make  himself 
a  scholar  in  Greek  geography,  antiquities  and  history.  His  toil- 
some work  was  so  well  done  that  :ill  readers  came  to  look  upon 
him  as  the  most  competent  of  Englishmen  to  deal  with  Grecian 
history  and  letters. 


MACAULAY.  841 

Lord  Macaulay.  The  most  versatile  writer  of  the  century  ia 
Thomas  Babington  Macaulay  (1800-1859).  In  descriptive  poetry 
(325),  in  criticism,  in  essay-writing,  in  political  papers,  in  oratory, 
and  especially  in  historical  narration,  he  has  shown  himself  to  be 
a  master.  He  was  born  in  England,  but  his  lineage  was  Scotch. 
His  father,  Zachary  Macaulay,  a  merchant,  was  an  ardent  philam 
thropist  and  one  of  the  earliest  opponents  of  the  slave  trade.  At 
Cambridge,  Macaulay  won  high  honors.  Leaving  the  university, 
he  began  the  study  of  the  law,  but,  while  at  his  books,  he  sud- 
denly achieved  a  literary  reputation  by  an  article  on 
1825.]  Milton  (341)  in  the  Edinburgh  Review.  This  was  the  first 
of  a  long  series  of  brilliant  literary  and  historical  essays 
contributed  to  the  same  periodical.  His  career  as  a  statesman  was 
brilliant,  but  it  is  as  a  man  of  letters  that  his  name  will  be  longest 
remembered. 

His  Lays  of  Ancient  Borne  are  the  best  known  of  his  poems ;  but 
the  lines  written  upon  his  defeat  at  Edinburgh  in  1847  are  the  finest. 
His  Essays  and  his  History  will  always  give  him  a  high  place 
among  English  classics.  His  style  has  been  well  described  by 
Dean  Milman.  "  Its  characteristics  were  vigor  and  animation, 
copiousness,  clearness ;  above  all,  sound  English,  now  a  rare  excel- 
lence. The  vigor  and  life  were  unabating ;  perhaps  in  that  con' 
scious  strength  which  cost  no  exertion,  he  did  not  always  gauge 
and  measure  the  force  of  his  own  words His  copious- 
ness had  nothing  tumid,  diffuse,  Asiatic ;  no  ornament  for  the  sake 
of  ornament.  As  to  its  clearness,  one  may  read  a  sentence  of  Ma- 
caulay twice  to  judge  of  its  full  force,  never  to  comprehend  its 
meaning.  His  English  was  pure,  both  in  idiom  and  in  words, 
pure  to  fastidiousness ;  .  .  .  .  every  word  must  be  genuine 
English,  nothing  that  approached  real  vulgarity,  uothing  that  had 
not  the  stamp  of  popular  use,  or  the  authority  of  sound  English 
writers,  nothing  unfamiliar  to  the  common  ear." 

Macaulay's  Essays  (341,  342)  are  philosophical  and  historical 
disquisitions,  embracing  a  vast  range  of  subjects ;  but  the  larger 
number,  and  the  most  important,  relate  to  English  History.  These 
Essays,  however,  were  only  preparatory  to  his  History  of  England. 
In  the  opening  chapter  of  that  grand  work,  he  says :  "  I  purpose 
to  write  the  History  of  England  from  the  accession  of  King  James 
the  Second  down  to  a  time  which  is  in  the  memory  of  men  stilL 


842  HALL  AM. 

living.'1  His  purpose  was  not  carried  out,  for  the  narrative  ii 
brought  down  only  to  the  death  of  William  the  Third,  and  the 
latter  portion  of  what  is  written  is  fragmentary.  In  a  review  of 
Sir  James  Mackintosh's  History  of  tlie  Revolution,  Macaulay  observed 
that  a  "  History  of  England,  written  throughout  in  this  manner 
would  be  the  most  fascinating  book  in  the  language.  It  would  be 
more  in  request  at  the  circulating  libraries  than  the  last  novel." 
The  unexampled  popularity  of  his  own  History  verified  the 
prediction. 

Henry  Hallam  (17*8-1859)  (337),  though  inferior  in  graces 
of  style,  was  superior  to  Lord  Macaulay  as  a  judicial  historian. 
He  was  one  of  the  early  contributors  to  the  Edinburgh  Review. 
His  criticism  in  that  journal,  in  1808,  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  edition 
of  Dryden's  works  was  marked  by  that  power  of  discrimination 
and  impartial  judgment  which  characterized  all  his  subsequent 
writings. 

The  result  of  his  long-continued  studies  first  appeared  in  his 
View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  published  in 
1818,  exhibiting,  in  a  series  of  historical  dissertations,  a  compre- 
hensive survey  of  the  chief  circumstances  that  cau  interest  a 
philosophical  inquirer  during  the  period  usually  denominated  the 
Middle  Ages.  Mr.  Hallam's  next  work  was  The  Constitutional  His- 
tory of  England  from  the  Accession  of  Henry  VII  to  the  Heath  of 
Qeorge  II,  published  in  1827  ;  and  his  third  great  production  was 
An  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe,  in  the  Fifteenth,  Six- 
teenth, and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  which  appeared  in  1837-39.  His 
latter  years  were  saddened  by  the  loss  of  his  two  sons,  the  eldest 
of  whom  is  the  subject  of  Tennyson's  In  Memoriatu. 

An  estimate  of  Hallam's  literary  merits  has  been  given  by  Ma- 
caulay, his  illustrious  contemporary,  in  a  review  of  the  Constitu- 
tional History:  "Mr.  Hallam  is,  on  the  whole,  far  better  qualified 
than  any  other  writer  of  our  time  for  the  office  which  he  has  under- 
taken. He  has  great  industry  and  gnat  acuteness.  His  knowledge 
is  extensive,  varied,  and  profound.  His  mind  is  equally  distin- 
guished by  the  amplitude  of  its  grasp,  and  by  the  delicacy  of  ita 

tact His  work  is  eminently  judicial.      The   whole 

spirit  is  that  of  the  bench,  not  that  of  the  bar.  He  sums  up  with  a 
calm,  steady  impartiality,  turning  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  tue 


MILMAN,     BUCKLE.  343 

left,  glossing  over  nothing,  exaggerating  nothing,  while  the  advo- 
cates on  both  sides  are  alternately  biting  their  lips  to  hear  their 
conflicting  misstatements  and  sophisms  exposed.  On  a  general 
survey,  we  do  not  scruple  to  pronounce  the  Constitutional  History 
the  most  impartial  book  that  we  have  ever  read." 

Henry  Hart  Milman.  The  oft-repeated  reproach  once  directed 
against  the  English  people,  that  Gibbon  was  their  only  ecclesiasti- 
cal historian,  has  been  removed  by  Henry  Hart  Milman  (1791-1868), 
Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  one  of  the  best-balanced  and  most  highly  culti- 
vated intellects  that  England  has  produced.  For  many  years  he 
held  the  professorship  of  Poetry  at  Oxford,  and  at  different  times 
he  published  The  Martyr  of  Antioch,  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  and 
other  poems.  Fazio,  and  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  both  dramas,  are 
perhaps  the  most  meritorious.  But  it  is  upon  his  historical  pro- 
ductions that  his  fame  rests.  The  History  of  the  Jews,  the  History 
of  Christianity,  and  the  History  of  Latin  Christianity,  have  taken 
their  place  among  English  classics.  Certain  indispensable  qualities 
•  of  a  great  historian, — a  mind  free  from  prejudice,  keen  critical 
sagacity,  and  a  faculty  for  determining  the  value  of  evidence— were 
possessed  by  him  to  a  remarkable  degree.  He  grappled  with  a 
subject  extending  over  a  vast  period  of  time,  and  a  wide  area  of 
human  activity,  and  dealing  with  the  subtlest  and  most  intricate 
phenomena.  His  themes  present  difficulties  from  which  any  but 
the  boldest  would  shrink. 

Henry  Thomas  Buckle  (1821-1862)  was  the  son  of  a  prosperous 
merchant.  As  a  child  he  was  delicate  in  health,  and  backward  in 
hia  studies.  At  his  own  request,  he  was  taken  from  school  in  his 
fourteenth  year.  From  this  time  his  education  was  carried  on  by 
means  of  foreign  travel  and  reading.  The  death  of  his  father,  in 
1840,  had  left  him  in  independent  circumstances.  The  influence  of 
his  mother  combined  with  a  peculiar  self-confidence  to  awaken  in 
Buckle  a  literary  ambition  to  which  he  consistently  devoted  his 
life.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  the  idea  of  his  history  was  already 
dimly  before  his  mind,  and  he  set  about  preparing  himself  for  its 
execution  by  studying  the  literature  and  languages  of  the  countries 
through  which  he  traveled.  In  1850  he  knew  nineteen  languages/ 
and  in  seven  qf  them  he  could  talk  or  write  with  ease.    The  tint 


344  BUCKLE. 

volume  of  the  History  of  Oivilization  in  England,  was  published  in 
1857  at  the  author's  expense,  the  second  in  1801.  The  book  met 
with  quick  success.  It  attracted  readers  by  the  clearness  and 
beauty  of  the  style,  as  well  as  by  the  novelty  of  its  views.  The 
obscure  author  became  an  object  of  public  curiosity ;  his  book  was 
the  topic  of  discussion  in  all  the  leading  Reviews.  Indeed,  the 
number  and  variety  of  objections  urged  against  his  arguments, 
served  the  somewhat  remarkable  purpose  of  answering  each  other; 
and  while  the  critics  were  wrangling,  the  book  was  reprinted  in 
America  and  smuggled  into  Russia.  But  Mr.  Buckle's  real  claim 
to  lasting  fame  is  not  based  upon  his  popularity,  nor  upon  the 
striking  character  of  his  opinions,  but  upon  the  purpose  of  his 
work.  It  was  an  attempt  to  bring  to  a  focus,  and  to  put  into 
elaborate  and  scientific  form  the  scattered  theories  and  vague 
guesses  which,  until  his  day,  had  been  all  that  there  was  of  a 
science  of  history. 

The  book  is  open  to  many  criticisms;  its  argument  is  often 
inadequate ;  its  statements  inaccurate.  Two  facts  should  be  kept 
in  mind  while  studying  Buckle,  or  when  attempting  to  form  a 
just  estimate  of  his  work  in  literature:  First,  he  is  dealing  with 
generalizations,  which  he  applies  only  to  the  mass  of  mankind, 
while  he  avowedly  leaves  the  individual  out  of  account.  Nearly  all 
the  criticism  urged  against  him,  as  an  opponent  of  religious  belief 
and  moral  conduct,  is  due  to  a  misapprehension  of  his  true  position 
in  this  respect.  Secondly,  his  work  is  but  a  fragment  of  a  fragment 
— only  two  volumes  in  the  civilization  of  one  country,  when  his 
original  plan  had  been  for  the  history  of  civilization  itself;  be 
was  working  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  having  to  collect  and 
compile  his  evidence  himself,  and  detailed  criticism  of  this  frag- 
ment is  made  possible  only  through  the  impetus  which  it  gave  to 
the  science  of  statistics.  Besides  the  llixtory,  Mr.  Buckle  has 
written  a  lecture  on  the  "Influence  of  Women  on  the  Progi 
Knowledge,"  delivered  before  the  Royal  Institution,  185S,  ami  a 
review  of  Mill's  Essay  on  Liberty.  From  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
worked  with  untiring  industry,  until  the  strain  of  intense  applica- 
tion, joined  to  constant  attacks  of  sickness,  and  to  grief  for  the 
death  of  his  mother,  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  try  change  oi 
scene.  In  October,  1861,  Buckle  left  England  for  Alexandria. 
Continuing  his  journey  he  died  in  Palestine,  in  May,  18G2. 


THE    LITERATURE    OE    PHILOSOPHY 


THE  LITERATURE   OF  PHILOSOPHY. 

Many  contributions  have  been  made  to  the  English  literature  ol 
Philosophy  during  the  period  under  consideration.  The  centers 
of  philosophical  influence  have  been  at  the  Universities  of  Glas- 
gow and  Edinburgh  in  Scotland,  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  in 
England.  In  later  years  the  scientific  schools  of  Sheffield  and 
Birmingham  have  made  their  influence  felt,  as  one  after  another 
their  graduates  have  been  rewarded  for  their  industry  by  distinc- 
tion at  home  and  abroad. 

The  Scottish  School  The  thinking  of  the  Scottish  philosophers 
of  this  century  is  a  protest  against  the  skepticism  which  was  preva- 
lent in  religion  and  philosophy  during  the  eighteenth  century. 
This  Scottish  thinking  presents  very  little  that  is  striking  or 
original.  Certain  well-defined  features,  however,  are  character- 
istic, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  of  all  the  writers  of  this  school. 
They  adopt  systematically  the  method  of  induction,  they  pursue 
their  investigation  by  means  of  consciousness,  and  they  believe  in 
the  existence  of  principles  prior  to  and  independent  of  experience. 
The  practical  merit  of  the  school  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  once  more 
enlisted  talent  and  scholarship  on  the  side  of  morality  and  religion. 

Thomas  Reid  (1710-1796),  the  best  representative  of  the  Scot- 
tish school,  lived  in  the  last  century.  His  life  was  a  singularly 
quiet  one.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  entered  Marischal  College, 
Aberdeen,  and  was  graduated  in  1726.  He  remained  in  the  college 
as  its  librarian  for  ten  years,  spending  his  time  in  hard  study.  In 
1737  he  took  charge  of  a  country  parish.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
eight,  he  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
London,  An  Essay  on  Quantity.  In  1752  he  was  elected  to  the 
chair  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  King's  College,  where  he  was  influen- 
tial in  bringing  about  many  improvements  in  the  system  of  uni- 
versity education.  The  professorship  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Glasgow  was  given  to  him  in  1763.  The  following 
year  the  Inquiry  into  the  Human  Mind  on  the  Principles  of  Common 
Sense  was  published,  and  at  once  fixed  his  reputation  and  deter- 
mined the  course  of  subsequent  Scottish  Philosophy.     Occasional 


346  STEWART. 

essays  and  reviews  in  the  publications  of  the  Glasgow  Literary 
Society  are  all  that  he  wrote  before  1785,  when  his  Essays  on  the 
Intellectual  Powers  of  Man  appeared,  followed  by  Essays  on  the  Active 
Powers  in  1788.     He  died  October  7,  1796. 

Reid's  philosophy  has  been  the  object  of  almost  equally  exagger- 
ated praise  and  blame.  His  admirers  have  tried  to  lind  in  his 
works  much  that  he  certainly  never  accomplished,  while  his  critics 
have  discovered  incongruities  where  he  had  attempted  nothing. 
He  was  a  patient,  industrious  thinker,  whose  sphere  of  greatest 
usefulness  was  in  clearing  up  what  was  vague  and  contradictory  in 
the  theories  of  his  predecessors.  Reid  was  no  rhetorician ;  he 
was  a  shrewd,  sagacious  Scotchman,  whose  literary  style  was  simple 
and  unadorned,  but  very  clear,  and  characterized  by  a  purity  of 
English  idiom  quite  uncommon  in  writers  of  philosophy. 

Dugald  Stewart  (1753-1828)  was  the  son  of  the  Edinburgh 
Professor  of  Mathematics,  aud  connected  on  the  side  of  both  father 
and  mother  with  two  of  the  most  influential  classes  in  Scotland — 
the  Presbyterian  ministry  and  the  Edinburgh  bar.  His  educa- 
tion in  Scotland  was  intended  to  fit  him  for  a  further  course  at 
Oxford,  but  the  latter  part  of  this  plan  was  never  carried  out.  In 
1775  he  was  elected  assistant  and  successor  to. his  father,  and  in 
1785,  on  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Adam  Ferguson,  he  was  appointed 
to  the  chair  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
This  office  he  retained  until  1810,  when  he  retired  in  favor  of 
Dr.  Thomas  Brown.  His  principal  works  are:— Element*  of  the 
Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind  (1792,  1814,  1827),  OutV, 
Philosophy,  Account  of  Adam  Smith  (1793),  Account  of  Reid 
Philosophical  Essays  (1810),  Dissertations  (1815,  1821,  1827),  Actia 
and  Moral  Powers  (1828).  His  lectures  on  Political  Eoonomyw&G 
published  in  1850. 

Stewart  was  the  expounder  of  the  doctrines  of  Reid.  and  any 
claim  of  his  to  philosophical  reputation  can  rest  on  very  little  eke. 
He  had  elegant  taste  and  reliable  judgment.  He  was  a  man  emi- 
nently fitted  to  be  a  disciple;  for  the  caution  which  would  have 
been  a  fatal  weakness  in  an  investigator,  made  him  an  admirable 
commentator. 

As  a  teacher,  Stewart  exercised  a  wide  and  powerful  influence. 
His  dignified   treatment  of  his  subject   recommended   it   to    the 


B  R  0  W  tf .  §4? 

attention  of  his  critical  hearers,  and  the  genial  character  of  the 
man  himself  emphasized  and  made  permanent  the  first  impression 
Among  the  young  men  who  listened  to  his  lectures  on  philosophy 
and  political  economy,  were  many  who  were  afterwards  distin 
guished — Lord  Brougham,  Lord  Palmerston,  and  Lord  John  Rus 
sell,  in  politics;  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Francis  Jeffrey,  and  Sydney 
Smith,  in  literature.  Some  of  them  have  carried  out  in  practical 
measures  the  doctrines  he  taught  them,  while  nearly  all  have  borne 
testimony  to  the  inspiration  which  they  received  in  his  class-room. 

Thomas  Brown  (1778-1820)  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
in  1792,  where  Stewart  was  then  lecturing,  and  in  the  following 
year  had  the  courage  to  wait  upon  his  professor  and  read  to  him 
some  critical  observations  upon  his  philosophy.  Stewart  declined 
to  enter  into  any  controversy,  but  from  that  time  took  a  paternal 
interest  in  the  career  of  the  brilliant  scholar.  Brown  began  to 
study  law,  but  abandoned  it  for  medicine,  with  which  he  occupied 
himself  from  1798  to  1803.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he  published 
a  volume  refuting  Erasmus  Darwin's  Zdonomia.  The  first  edition 
of  his  Essay  on  Cause  and  Effect  appeared  in  1804.  In  1810  Brown 
was  chosen  to  assist  Stewart  in  his  professorship  at  the  Edinburgh 
University,  and  from  that  time  he  discharged  all  the  duties  of 
the  position.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  essays  and  four 
volumes  of  forgotten  poems,  Brown's  writings  were,  from  this 
time,  limited  to  the  lectures  which  he  delivered  to  the  students 
of  the  University.     He  died  in  1820. 

The  philosophy  of  Brown  is  a  combination  of  that  of  Reid  and 
Stewart,  with  the  analysis  of  the  sensational  school  in  France. 
For  a  time  his  popularity  as  a  teacher  and  thinker  was  unbounded. 
His  brilliant  rhetoric,  his  ingenious  analysis,  his  enthusiastic  tem- 
perament, made  his  personal  influence  very  great,  and  even  kept 
alive  the  interest  in  his  published  lectures  for  twenty  years. 
Brown's  philosophy  never  met  the  expectations  which  his  brilliant 
boyhood  raised;  his  theories  were  nearly  always  the  premature 
hints  of  his  youth,  elaborated  and  adorned  by  his  powers  of  analy- 
sis and  rhetoric.  He  lacked  the  conscientious  industry  of  Reid 
and  the  critical  erudition  of  Hamilton,  but  he  was  able  to  inspire 
young  men  with  an  elevated  idea  of  literary  taste  and  with  a  firm 
belief  in  the  spirituality  of  the  soul. 


348  EAMtLTOtf. 

William  Sterling  Hamilton  (1788-1856)  was  the  son  of  the 
Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Botany  in  the  University  of  Glasgow. 
He  went  to  Oxford  in  1807.  His  habits  of  study  and  research  had 
been  early  formed,  and  even  during  his  undergraduate  years,  he 
was  known  as  the  most  learned  Aristotelian  in  the  University,  but 
he  owed  little  to  the  actual  teaching  of  Oxford.  Up  to  the  year 
1812  he  had  intended  to  practice  medicine,  but  suddenly  decided 
in  favor  of  law,  and,  in  1813,  passed  his  examination  as  Advocate  at 
the  Edinburgh  Bar.  In  1816  he  was  adjudged  heir  to  Sir  Robert 
Hamilton,  of  Preston.  Sir  William  Hamilton's  career  at  the  bar 
was  not  brilliant.  In  1820  he  offered  himself  as  candidate  for 
the  professorship  of  moral  philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Thomas  Brown.  The 
election  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Edinburgh  Town  Council,  and 
was  conducted  on  strict  party  principles,  so  that  in  spite  of  his 
undoubted  superiority  of  attainments,  Sir  William  Hamilton  was 
rejected  in  favor  of  Professor  Wilson,  who  was  a  Tory.  In  1821 
Hamilton  was  appointed  Associate  Professor  of  Civil  History  at  the 
University.  The  duties  of  this  position  were  very  light,  the  compen- 
sation in  proportion,  and  during  part  of  his  time,  Sir  William  was 
not  paid  at  all ;  nevertheless,  he  did  his  work  with  energy  and 
enthusiasm.  In  1836  Hamilton  was  elected  to  the  professorship  of 
logic  and  metaphysics  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  This 
position  he  held  for  more  than  twenty  years.  In  1844  he  was 
struck  down  by  paralysis.  The  remaining  twelve  years  of  his  life 
were  passed  in  great  physical  weakness  and  suffering,  but  his 
intellectual  power  seemed  unabated.  It  was  during  this  period 
that  he  published  his  edition  of  Reid's  works,  gathered  together 
his  materials  for  a  treatise  on  Logic  and  for  a  life  of  Luther,  and 
undertook  the  editing  of  Stewart's  works.     lit  died   May  6,  1856. 

Sir  William  Hamilton,  like  Brown,  taught  a  philosophy  which 
differed  from  the  tenets  of  Reid  and  Stewart,  but  like  Brown  again 
he  never  completed  his  own  system.  His  fame  is,  to  a  very  great 
extent,  the  victim  of  the  habit  of  procrastination.  He  always  put 
off  writing  until  forced  to  the  effort  by  some  outward  necessity. 
Then,  too,  the  peculiar  discursiveness  of  his  mind  made  him  look 
at  his  subject  from  so  many  points  of  view  that  his  researches  in 
all  directions  overwhelmed  him  with  a  quantity  of  material  too 
great  for  him  to  set  in  order.     Besides  his  lectures  to  his  classes  on 


JAMES     MILL.  349 

logic  and  metaphysics,  his  notes  in  the  editions  of  Reid  and  of 
Stewart,  and  the  Discussions  of  PhUosojjfiy,  Sir  William  Hamilton 
has  written  very  little  ;  and  yet  we  find  him  in  1840  elected  Corres- 
ponding Member  of  the  Institute  of  France,  while  the  University 
of  Leyden  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
Until  1839  Sir  William  contributed  occasional  articles  to  the 
Edinburgh  Review  on  education,  medicine  and  philosophy;  but 
after  his  appointment  to  the  professorship  of  logic,  he  was  occupied 
by  the  duties  of  his  position. 

Hamilton's  metaphysics  is,  in  the  main,  an  application  of  the 
Kantian  method  to  the  premises  of  the  Scottish  philosophy.  His 
immense  learning  and  critical  taste  made  him  often  prefer  exact- 
ness to  clearness  of  style,  and  hence  he>is  often  accused  of  unneces- 
sary obscurity.  Of  this  charge,  M.  Cousin  emphatically  declares 
him  guiltless.  As  a  teacher,  Sir  William  Hamilton  was  successful 
rather  from  the  white  heat  of  his  own  enthusiasm  than  from  any 
intrinsic  good  in  his  method.  As  a  man  he  was  resolute  in  holding 
a  position,  dogmatic  and  controversial.  His  influence  upon  the 
life  and  thought  of  his  time,  was  to  give  an  impulse  towards  pro- 
founder  thinking,  and  towards  a  higher  estimate  of  the  mind 
of  man. 

The  English  School  While  the  Scottish  Philosophy  in  the 
hands  of  Brown  and  Hamilton  was  tending  more  and  more  to 
identify  itself  with  metaphysics,  a  wider  movement  was  going  on 
in  England.  James  Mill,  a  pupil  of  Dugald  Stewart,  may  be  named 
as  the  first  of  the  group  of  thinkers  who,  from  the  same  starting- 
point  of  Common  Sense  as  the  Scottish  school,  have  extended  the 
jurisdiction  of  philosophy  to  all  the  important  social,  political, 
and  scientific  problems  of  the  day.  In  this  movement  are  found 
men  of  the  most  contrasted  character,  and  of  interests  the  most 
opposed ;  but  they  are  united  here  by  an  earnest  desire  to  reach 
the  truth,  by  a  strong  impulse  of  practical  benevolence,  and  by 
the  patient  use  of  scientific  investigation. 

James  Mill  (1773-1836)  was  the  author  of  the  History  of  British 
India,  (1817-18),  and  of  the  Analysis  of  the  Human  Mind  (1829).  The 
history  displayed  such  stores  of  information  that  it  caused  the 
directors  of  the  East  India  Company,  in  spite  of  the  author's 


350  JEREMY     BENTHAM. 

censure  of  their  conduct  of*  affairs,  to  give  him  a  place  in  theii 
home  establishment.  He  eventually  became  head  of  the  depart- 
ment of  Indian  correspondence.  James  Mill  was  a  man  of  strong 
character.  Although  his  name  is  intimately  associated  with 
that  of  Bentham,  he  was  no  servile  follower,  but  a  man  of  acute 
and  independent  views.  The  Analysis  of  (lie  Human  Mind  is  the 
first  elaborate  and  scientific  exposition  of  the  sensational  and  asso- 
ciational  philosophy.  It  resolves  all  mental  exercises  into  sensa- 
tions and  ideas,  with  laws  of  association  connecting  and  combining 
them.  He  wrote  articles  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  and  was 
an  important  contributor  to  the  Westminster  Review.  His  Element* 
of  Political  Economy  was  published  in  1821-22,  and  presented  in  a 
precise  and  clear  style  the  views  of  Ricardo,  who  was  at  that 
time  unknown  to  the  majority  of  English  readers.  James  Mill,  as 
a  critic  and  as  an  original  thinker,  was  strongly  tinctured  by 
the  influences  of  the  eighteenth  century,  of  which,  indeed,  he  may 
be  called  the  last  representative.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
conversational  ability,  and  his  personal  influence  kept  about 
him  a  score  or  joung  men  who  came  to  be1  known  as  the  West- 
minister Review  school.  They  followed  Bentham  in  morals,  and 
Mill  in  metaphysics.  From  the  narrow,  the  partial,  and  the 
fanatical  part  of  Mill's  teaching  they  gradually  fell  away ;  but  to 
his  earnestness,  sincerity  and  enthusiasm,  the  careers  of  men  like 
George  Grote,  John  Arthur  Roebuck,  and  Mr.  Grant,  still  bear 
grateful  testimony. 

Jeremy  Bentham  (1748-1832).  The  founder  of  the  "Utili- 
tarian School "  was  born  in  London,  where  he  spent  most  of  his 
life.  His  father  was  a  shrewd  attorney,  who  took  great  pride  in  the 
mental  precocity  displayed  by  his  son,  and  cherished  the  hope 
of  seeing  him  some  time  Lord  Chancellor.  At  the  age  of  twelve, 
Bentham  was  so  far  recovered  from  the  ill  health  of  his  earlier 
years  that  he  was  entered  as  a  commoner  at  Oxford.  His  lite  there 
was  not  happy,  for  his  high  estimate  of  his  own  ability,  and  his 
sensitiveness  to  the  opinion  of  others,  were  constantly  subject tag 
him  to  suffering.  He  took"  his  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1768,  and  shortly 
afterward  commenced  the  study  of  law.  He  listened  to  Black- 
stone's  lectures  with  feelings  of  protest,  though  he  did  not  at  that 
time  set  himself  up  as  a  critic.     Bentham  took  his  degree  of  A.  M. 


JOHN     STUART     MILL.  351 

at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  at  twenty-four  was  called  to  the  bar. 
The  hopes  of  a  successful  career,  which  his  remarkable  attainments 
had  inspired,  were  all  disappointed  ;  his  temperament  utterly  un- 
fitted him  for  the  practice  of  English  law  as  it  then  stood,  and  he 
employed  himself  in  planning  for  the  reconstruction  of  English 
jurisprudence  on  the  basis  of  Utility.  His  fierce  attacks  on  law 
abuses  and  on  lawyers  naturally  raised  against  him  a  great  deal  of 
prejudice,  and  it  was  forty  years  before  he  gained  the  respectful 
attention  of  the  English  public.  During  all  this  time  he  worked 
with  an  unwavering  faith  in  himself  and  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  principles  which  he  advocated.  He  became  the  acknowledged 
head  of  a  school  of  young  men  who  were  Radicals  in  politics  and 
Utilitarians  in  morals,  and  although  nearly  everyone  of  his  dis- 
ciples found  subsequent  reasons  to  differ  with  him  in  his  most 
important  doctrines,  he  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  great  influ- 
ences in  English  thought.  In  1823  he  supplied  the  money  to  set 
up  the  Wed  minster  Review  as  the  Radical  organ.  The  first  editor 
of  the  Review,  Sir  John  Bo  wring,  has  compiled  Bentham's  works 
in  eleven  volumes  (1843).  Bentham  was  a  Utilitarian  to  the  last; 
for  he  bequeathed  his  dead  body  to  his  friend  Dr.  Smith,  for  the 
purpose  of  dissection. 

As  a  philosopher  Bentham's  keen  sense  of  justice  made  him 
quick  to  see  abuses  in  practical  life;  his  critical  power  enabled 
him  to  discover  incongruities  in  schemes  of  philosophy ;  but  his 
self-esteem  and  lack  of  sympathy  made  him  too  ready  to  believe 
that  what  he  did  not  see  did  not  exist.  It  is  limited  to  utility, 
and  stops  short  with  the  business  interests  of  the  individual  and 
society.  As  a  system  it  is  inadequate.  But  the  principles  which 
were  utterly  insufficient  to  account  for  a  moral  nature  in  man  or 
for  character  in  a  nation  were  well  adapted  to  practical  reform  in 
the  science  and  method  of  jurisprudence.  In  this  field  Bentham  has 
been  the  direct  or  the  indirect  source  of  nearly  every  improvement 
of  the  present  century.  His  pages  are  the  storehouses  from  wThich 
modern  legislators  and  jurists  pilfer.  The  work  from  which  the 
general  reader  will  obtain  the  best  idea  of  Bentham's  system  is  the 
TJieory  of  Legislation. 

John  Stuart  Mill  (1806-1873).  The  childhood  of  this  acute 
thinker  was  made  aged  by  a  pedantic  training ;  the  happiness  of 


352  JOHN     STUART     MILL. 

his  early  manhood  was  almost  destroyed  by  the  excessive 
development  of  his  analytical  powers,  and  his  whole  life  was  a 
pathetic  attempt  to  find  satisfaction  for  the  cravings  of  an  ardent 
nature  in  the  habits  of  thought  which  an  artificial  education  had 
imposed. 

Iu  1823  Mill  became  a  clerk  in  the  East  India  Company.  There 
he  remained  until  he  was  appointed  examiner,  only  two  years 
before  the  abolition  of  the  Company  in  1858.  In  1865,  under 
iomewhat  peculiar  circumstances,  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of 
Commons  from  Westminster.  He  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the 
canvass  or  to  incur  any  expense ;  he  declined  to  give  any  of  his 
time  or  labor  to  the  interests  of  the  election,  and  declared  his 
belief  that  women  were  entitled  to  representation  in  Parliament  on 
the  same  terms  with  men.  Mr.  Mill's  career  as  a  member  of  the 
House  was  the  rather  unattractive  one  of  the  man  who  makes  it  his 
business  to  do  what  is  left  undone  or  thought  not  worth  the  doing 
by  others.  He  was  prominent  in  his  advocacy  of  the  Irish  inter- 
ests, and  of  Northern  principles  in  the  Civil  War  of  the  United 
States.  On  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  1868,  he  was  not 
re-elected,  and  from  that  time  he  took  no  active  part  in  public 
business. 

His  career  as  an  author  began  with  frequent  contributions  to 
journals  committed  to  liberal  views  in  politics  and  philosophy.  He 
gained  access  to  the  Westminster  Review  through  his  connection 
with  Beutham,  and  was  one  of  its  most  laborious  supporters, 
although  its  management  was  not  in  accordance  with  his  personal 
views.  From  1834  to  1840,  as  the  London  and  Westminster,  he 
conducted  it  himself.  Mr.  Mill's  reputation  was  established  by 
his  System  of  Logic  (1843).  The  Principles  of  Political  Economy 
appeared  in  1848,  and  his  Examination  of  Sir  William  Hamilton 's 
Pliih>x(>i>hy  in  1865.  In  the  Logic  his  acceptance  of  the  tenets  of 
the  sensational  school  leads  him  to  lay  great  stress  upon  indue! ion, 
and  makes  him  utterly  unsatisfied  with  the  theories  of  the  syllogism 
offered  by  Whately  and  others.  The  Political  Economy  is  not 
confined  to  abstract  theories,  but  treats  of  practical  applications 
as  well.  Able  discussions  of  most  of  the  questions  of  the  dav  which 
are  to  be  found  in  its  pages  make  it  the  most  satisfactory  treatise 
on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Mill's  vigorous  criticism  of  Sir  William  Hamilton's  Philos- 


GEORGE     HE  NET     LEWES.  353 

cphy  demands  attention  on  account  of  its  polemical  as  well  as  its 
philosophical  value.  The  rival  schools  of  Intuition  and  Experi- 
ence are  here  represented  by  two  acknowledged  champions,  and 
the  various  points  at  issue  are  stubbornly  contested.  The  Essay  on 
Liberty  was  written  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  variety  in 
types  of  character,  and  has  been  one  of  the  most  influential  of 
Mr.  Mill's  efforts.  The  essay  on  The  Subjection  of  Women  is  an 
eloquent  plea  for  greater  freedom  of  effort  for  the  sex,  and  shows 
in  a  clear  light  the  ardor  of  sentiment  which  was  hidden  under 
Mr.  Mill's  uncompromising  logic. 

George  Henry  Lewes  (1817-1878)  occupies  a  somewhat  anom- 
alous position  in  the  literature  of  the  nineteenth  century.  His 
education  was  desultory,  his  career  erratic.  His  taste  for  philo- 
sophical research  seems  to  have  displayed  itself  early,  but  as  it 
was  coupled  with  the  necessity  of  earning  his  own  living,  he  could 
indulge  it  only  in  the  intervals  of  other  employments.  He  began 
the  study  of  medicine,  but  could  not  overcome  a  constitutional 
horror  of  the  dissecting-room,  and  therefore  studied  anatomy  and 
physiology  only  as  a  part  of  his  general  education.  Gradually  he 
drifted  .nto  a  literary  career  as  that  for  which  he  was  best  fitted. 
His  early  works — plays,  poems,  and  novels— were  written  to  gain 
a  subsistence  for  himself  while  he  went  on  with  the  studies  which 
were  to  fit  him  for  work  in  the  more  serious  departments  of 
thought.  From  1841  to  1878  he  supplied  articles  on  topics  of 
general  interest  to  nearly  all  the  leading  magazines  of  England, 
and  twice  in  that  time  he  filled  the  position  of  editor  {The" Leader, 
1851-1854;  Fortnightly,  1865-6).  Mr.  Lewes  endeavored  to  make 
philosophy  popular  and  practical.  He  was  a  Positivist,  and  held 
the  social  opinions  of  an  advanced  Liberal.  His  work  is  always 
original,  bold,  and  suggestive ;  he  insists  upon  doubt  and  experi- 
ment as  necessary  steps  in  scientific  method,  and  is  a  most  pains- 
taking illustrator  of  his  own  doctrine.  His  efforts  have  been 
fragmentary,  and  have  gone  over  much  ground.  To  the  last  he 
was  a  man  of  promise  rather  than  of  accomplishment.  His 
principal  writings  are  : — Biographical  History  of  Philosophy  (1857), 
Comte's  Philosophy  of  the  Sciences  (1853),  Life  of  Goethe  (1855), 
Aristotle  (1864),  Problems  of  Life  and  Mind:  I.  The  Foundations 
of  a  Greed  (1874),  II.  (1875),  III.  (1877). 


351  INFLUENCE     OF     THE     CLERGY. 

Influence  of  the  Clergy. — The  nineteenth  century  has  favored 
the  diffusion  of  thought.  It  has  thereby  increased  the  number 
of  questions  which  have  clamored  for  solution,  because  they  have 
involved  the  interests  of  the  common  people.  In  all  attempts 
at  settling  these  questions  the  clergy  of  England  have  borne  an 
honorable  and  important  part.  With  patient  industry  some  of 
them  have  worked  to  bring  knowledge  within  the  reach  of  the 
people,  and  with  large-hearted  sympathy  they  have  tried  to 
lighten  the  burdens  which  increased  intelligence  sometimes  seemed 
to  render  only  more  intolerable.  With  earnest  self-devotion 
others  have  labored  to  adjust  the  relations  between  Church  and 
State — between  private  judgment  and  authority. 

Richard  Whately  (1787-1863).— While  still  a  fellow  of  Oriel, 
Whately  was  the  representative  of  a  class  of  able  and  philan- 
thropic men  who  had  set  themselves  the  task  of  improving  the 
teaching  and  discipline  in  the  Oxford  colleges.  Even  at  that  early 
day  the  struggle  between  the  reason  of  the  individual  and  the 
authority  of  the  Church  was  dimly  shadowed  forth  in  the  subtle 
disputations  which  took  place  in  the  Oriel  Common  Room.  Even 
then,  men  like  Keble  -thought  that  others  like  Whately  were  not 
free  from  u  pride  of  reason  ;  "  but  the  practical  temperament  and 
active  industry  of  Whately  found  plenty  to  occupy  him  in  the 
discharge  of  obvious  duty  without  turning  aside  to  what  he  could 
not  but  consider  fine-spun  distinctions.  His  elevation  to  an  arch- 
bishopric was  the  cause  of  great  rejoicing  to  Dr.  Arnold  and  the 
other  •  members  of  the  Church  Reform  Party,  but  their  hopes 
were  disappointed.  Whately,  while  working  for  reform,  did  not 
become  its  eminent  champion.  His  great  service  was  his  support 
of  the  national  school  system;  he  was  also  largely  concerned  in 
the  reform  of  the  Poor  Laws,  and  he  did  much  to  bring  about  the 
abolition  of  penal  transportation  and  the  admission  of  Jews  to 
Parliament.  His  first  work,  published  anonymously,  was  the 
once  famous  argument  entitled  Historic  Doubt*  Relative  to  Najtoleon 
Bonaparte.  It  was  an  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  principles  of 
reasoning  used  by  infidels  against  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment are  just  as  effective  in  seeming  to  disprove  the  best  authenti- 
cated  t'arts  of  history.  While  Professor  of  Political  Economy  at 
Oxford  he  published  his  well-known  works  on  Logic  and  Rhetoric. 


JOHK     KEBLE.  355 

To  enumerate  all  the  publications  of  this  diligent  man  would  not 
be  possible  in  this  sketch.  u  He  was  always  either  writing  himself 
or  helping  some  one  else  to  write."  His  best  essays  are  :  New 
Testament  Difficulties,  The  Sabbath,  and  Romanism.  His  lectures 
on  Political  Economy  (346)  appeared  in  1831,  and  later  he  pub- 
lished other  works  on  social  and  economical  questions.  His  work 
in  annotating  an  edition  of  Bacon's  essays  has  received  much 
deserved  praise.  Whately  had  a  mind  of  great  logical  power, 
with  little  imagination  and  fancy.  His  views  of  questions  are 
always  practical.  His  style  is  luminous,  easy,  and  well  adorned 
with  every-day  illustrations. 

John  Keble  (1792-1866). -In  the  year  1833  Oxford  became  the 
center  of  a  religious  movement  which  found  expression  in  the 
famous  Tracts  for  the  Times.  This  Tractarianism  was  marked  by 
the  self-denial  of  its  originators — by  the  lofty  aims  of  its  sup- 
porters. If  its  spirit  was  sometimes  too  exclusive,  its  meaning  toe 
mystical,  it  must  always  be  admitted  that  it  made  worldly  old  men 
thoughful  and  young  men  serious.  The  prominent  supporters  of 
this  movement  were  men  versed  in  dialectics,  who  were  able  to 
parry  and  return  every  thrust  of  their  opponents.  The  leader  of  it 
all  was  a  quiet  man  living  as  a  curate  at  Fairford.  This  man  was 
John  Keble,  the  author  of  The  Christian  Year  and  of  the  Summer 
Assize  Sermon  at  Oxford,  afterward  published  under  the  title  of 
National  Apostasy.  Years  before,  he  had  been  one  of  the  Oxford 
celebrities.  In  1810  he  had  obtained  double  first-class  honors,  and 
shortly  afterward  he  was  elected  to  an  Oriel  fellowship.  Cople- 
ston,  Davidson,  and  Whately,  Arnold,  Newman  and  Pusey  were 
his  companions  ;  but  the  brilliant  intercourse  of  such  intellects 
was  unsatisfactory  to  him,  and  after  five  years  of  residence  at 
Oriel,  during  which  he  took  part  in  the  college  tuition  and  acted 
as  an  examiner,  he  was  ordained,  and  left  the  University.  For 
nearly  twenty  years  he  was  content  to  be  his  father's  curate,  and 
bounded  his  earthly  ambition  by  the  duties  of  a  son  and  brother. 
He  was  called  from  time  to  time  to  serve  his  College  and  Univer- 
sity, but  his  sincere  desire  was  for  the  peace  and  serenity  of  a 
country  parish.  This  meditative  life  resulted  in  the  publication 
of  The  Christian  Year  in  1827.  The  Catholic  Emancipation  dis- 
turbed his  serenity.     He  came  to  Oxford,  and  in  his  assize  sermon 


356  THOMAS     ARNOLD. 

attempted  to  defend  the  English  Church  Against  Lord  Grey  by 
reviving  her  claims  to  heavenly  origin  and  divine  prerogative.  He 
sounded  the  alarm,  and  then  went  back  to  his  quiet  parish,  leaving 
it  for  others  to  reduce  to  logical  form  the  principles  which  were 
part  of  his  nature.  But  when,  in  1845,  John  Henry  Newman 
went  over  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  burden  of  defence  fell  back 
upon  Keble  and  Dr.  Pusey.  Keble  accepted  his  share  of  the 
uncongenial  task,  and  worked  until  his  death  in  1866  with  un- 
wearying energy  and  affectionate  devotion. 

Of  all  Keble's  literary  works  The  Christian  Year  is  the  one  which 
has  appealed  most  to  the  popular  heart  and  experience.  It  is 
marked  by  the  simple  expression  of  genuine  poetic  feeling,  by 
unaffected  piety,  and  love  of  nature.  Of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times, 
he  wrote  Nos.  4,  13,  40,  and  89. 

Thomas  Arnold  (1795-1842),  Head  Master  of  Rugby,  the  author 
5f  the  History  of  Rome,  was  one  of  the  strenuous  opponents  of 
Newman  and  Pusey.  His  character  was  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting of  modern  times.  His  intellect  was  eminently  practical,  at 
the  same  time  that  it  lacked  neither  acuteness  nor  sympathy.  His 
convictions  were  clear,  his  energy  in  carrying  them  to  their  legiti- 
mate conclusions  unflinching.  He  began  his  work  at  Rugby  by 
reforms  in  both  the  social  and  intellectual  life  of  the  school,  and 
made  himself  the  soul  of  its  discipline  as  well  as  the  guide  of  its 
spiritual  life.  Although  bitterly  opposed  to  the  claims  of  undue 
authority  for  the  Church  of  England,  he  was  ardently  attached  to 
her  teachings,  and  urgently  advocated  the  doctrine  that  the  State 
ought  to  be  a  working  Church. 

He  held  the  position  of  Regius  Professor  of  Modem  History  for 
a  year;  he  believed  it  to  be  the  one  of  all  others  best  suited  to  his 
tastes  and  disposition.  His  life  and  usefulness  were  cut  short  by 
heart  disease,  June  12,  1842. 

The  History  of  Borne  embodies  the  results  of  Niebuhr's  inv< 
tions,  and  is  written  in  clear,  energetic  English. 

Frederick  William  Robertson  (1816-1853)  waa  the  son  of  a 

captain  in  the  Royal  Artillery,  stationed  at  Leith  Port.  Here,  in 
the  midst  of  warlike  surroundings,  were  spent  the  iir>t  live  years 
of  his  life — years  which  were    ever   afterward  cherished   in   hi- 


FREDERICK     WILLIAM     ROBERTSON.  357 

memory.  As  the  boy  grew  older  his  peculiar  character  rapidly 
developed,  giving  evidence  of  the  somewhat  contradictory  traits 
which  were  his  through  life.  He  was  courageous  and  enthusiastic, 
he  was  also  excitable  and  self-conscious  ;  the  qualities  which  made 
him  a  passionate  lover  of  arms  were  supplemented  by  others  which 
made  him  from  a  child  deeply  and  unfeignedly  religious.  Captain 
Robertson  believed  that  his  son  was  unfitted  for  a  military  lii'e,  and 
in  1833  he  was  articled  to  a  solicitor,  with  whom  he  spent  a  year  in 
the  study  of  law.  But  he  detested  the  profession,  and  concluded 
to  enter  the  Church.  With  this  end  in  view,  he  went  to  Oxford, 
graduated  in  1840,  and  in  the  same  year  took  orders.  He  was 
curate  at  Winchester,  Cheltenham,  and  Oxford,  and  in  1847  he 
became  minister  of  Trinity  Chapel,  Brighton.  There  the  rest  of  his 
short  life  was  spent,  and  there,  in  the  midst  of  bewildering  occupa- 
tions and  disheartening  opposition,  he  died,  August  15,  1853. 

Robertson  was  not  a  theologian,  he  was  not  an  eminent  scholar 
in  any  department  of  thought.  In  the  great  political  and  religious 
controversies  of  his  day  he  sided  neither  with  Newman  nor  Kings- 
ley,  neither  with  capital  nor  the  Chartists.  The  man  stood  alone  all 
his  life.  His  exquisite  sympathy  made  him  see  so  much  of  good 
in  each  of  the  contending  parties  and  doctrines  that  he  could  be 
the  partisan  of  neither.  His  short  life  was  a  sad  one,  for  his  own 
struggles  were  the  source  of  helpfulness  to  others,  never  of  satis- 
faction to  himself.  His  character  was  marked  by  constant  growth  ; 
opinions  and  beliefs,  which  were  outworn  by  his  experience,  felL 
from  him  like  old  garments,  and  the  calm  of  a  settled  conviction, 
attained  through  agony  of  feeling,  often  seemed  like  indifference. 
Such  a  man  is  sure  to  be  misunderstood ;  perhaps  it  is  hardly 
possible  that  he  should  understand  himself  with  the  easy  faith  of 
i  less  complex  character.  The  thirteen  years  of  Robertson's  minis- 
;ry  were  years  of  feverish  industry  on  his  part,  of  wondering  half- 
comprehension  on  the  part  of  his  friends,  and  of  bitter  opposition 
on  the  part  of  his  enemies.  Gradually  the  position  lost  the  sting 
of  its  bitterness,  and  his  soldier-like  endurance  of  the  drill  of 
life  softened  into  the  Christian  desire  to  work  while  it  was  day. 
Robertson's  influence  was  great  among  the  tradespeople  of 
Brighton.  He  organised  a  Workingmen's  Institute,  before  which 
he  delivered  some  of  his  most  powerful  addresses.  His  lectures 
on  poetry  did  much  to  interest  tne  working  people  in  this  branch 


358     JOHN     FREDERICK     DENISON     MAURICE. 

of  literature,  and  helped  to  lessen  the  distance  between  the  rich 
and  the  poor.  Robertson  was  never  able  to  shut  his  eyes  to  tbc 
fact  that  the  self-indulgence  of  the  lower  classes  was,  after  all, 
answerable  for  most  of  the  hardships  of  their  condition;  so  that 
while  he  was  their  constant  friend,  he  never  ceased  to  be  their 
critic.  His  life  proved  that  a  man  could  retain  his  individuality 
and  still  be  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  that  a  man 
might  oppose  the  demands  of  the  working  people  and  yet  be  the 
only  minister  of  his  Church  who  would  vote  for  the  Radicals  in 
1852.  His  influence  has  not  ceased  with  his  life;  he  is  to-day 
perhaps  better  understood  than  when  his  voice  was  still  heard  in 
Brighton  This  subtler  recognition  began  on  the  day  when  frivo- 
lous Brighton  closed  her  shops  and  wore  mourning  ;  when  her 
tradespeople,  workingmen,  and  literary  societies  went  together  to 
his  funeral. 

Robertson's  sermons  and  lectures  have  gone  through  many 
editions  in  England  and  America,  and  have  been  printed  in  the 
Tauchnitz  edition  of  English  authors. 

John  Frederick  Denison  Maurice  (1805-1872)  was  the  friend 
of  John  Sterling  and  the  co-laborer  of  Charles  Kingsley.  A  man  of 
great  sensitiveness  of  conscience  in  respect  to  his  own  action,  he 
exercised  the  broadest  charity  toward  the  shortcomings  of  others. 
His  active  career  was  marked  by  two  purposes— one,  to  make  the 
theology  of  the  Church  of  England  minister  to  the  needs  of  man- 
kind ;  the  other,  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  working  classes. 
In  the  first  he  co-operated  with  Dr  Arnold  of  Rugby;  in  the 
second  with  Kingsley.  He  met  with  opposition  and  misunder- 
standing in  both  attempts,  but  gradually  recognition  of  his 
generous  intentions  and  ardent  love  for  truth  was  given  to  him. 
He  was  made  Professor  of  Theology  in  King's  College.  London.  In 
1866  he  became  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at  Cambridge.  He 
has  written  much  on  the  history  of  philosophy,  the  philosophy  of 
religion,  the  critical  study  of  the  Scriptures,  the  condition  of  the 
working  people,  and  social  morality.  Charles  Kingsley  has  said 
that,  although  Maurice  was  a  great  and  rare  thinker,  he  was 
greatest  in  his  personal  influence.  Perhaps  the  verdict  of  less 
partial  critics  would  deny  the  first  statement.  There  is  very  little 
originality  in  his  thinking,  no  great  subtlety  in  his  intellect     llw 


CHARLES     KIXGSLEY.  359 

was  the  principal  of  the  Workingmen's  College  in  Red  Lion 
Square ;  lie  was  the  founder  of  Christian  Socialism ;  he  was  the 
"Master"  to  whom  Charles  Kingsley  looked  up  with  love  and 
reverence. 

Charles  Kingsley  (1819-1875). — Kingsley's  name  is  so  closely 
associated  with  some  of  the  greatest  political  movements  and 
religious  issues  of  this  century  that  his  writings  have  an  historical 
interest  quite  apart  from  their  artistic  value.  The  Chartist  excite- 
ment and  the  Newman  controversy  both  occurred  during  his  life- 
time, and  both  were  influential  in  determining  the  character  of  his 
work.  He  was  the  friend  of  Maurice,  of  Bunsen,  of  Mill,  and  of 
Carlyle,  an  old-fashioned  High  Churchman,  and  a  Chartist.  He 
was  ordained  in  1842,  and  in  the  same  year  accepted  the  curacy  of 
Eversley ;  two  years  afterward  he  received  the  living.  Here  he  spent 
his  life  in  active  parish  work,  and  in  the  churchyard  he  is  buried. 

The  literary  life  of  Kingsley  is  divided  into  two  parts,  each 
characterized  in  the  main  by  one  of  the  two  influences  which  held 
his  mind  in  balance.  In  his  youth  and  early  manhood  he  was 
self-assertive,  impatient  of  abuses,  destructive  in  his  tendencies. 
Yeast,  published  as  a  serial  in  Fraser  in  1848,  was  the  outcome  of 
his  interest  in  the  Chartist  Riots  of  that  year,  and  gives  some  of  the 
most  powerful  delineations  of  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  which  are 
to  be  found  in  English  literature.  Alton  Locke  (1850)  deals  with 
the  same  general  subject,  though  the  literary  tone  of  the  book  is 
more  dignified.  As  a  parish  clergyman,  Kingsley  was  particularly 
interested  in  the  intellectual  and  sanitary  condition  of  the  poor. 
He  found  Eversley  without  schools,  and  its  poor  people  in  the 
squalor  of  ignorance;  his 'struggle  with  dirt,  sickness,  and  unbelief 
during  the  attacks  of  cholera  which  visited  England  in  these 
years  was  the  motive  for  his  novel  of  Two  Years  Ago.  In  1851  he 
published  Hypatia  as  a  serial  in  Fraser.  He  says  of  it :  "  My  idea 
in  the  romance  is  to  set  forth  Christianity  as  the  only  really  demo- 
cratic creed  and  philosophy;  above  all,  spiritualism  as  the  most 
exclusively  aristocratic  creed."  In  1855  appeared  Westward  Ho, 
an  historical  novel,  relating  to  Elizabethan  English  history. 
During  this  period  of  his  life,  Mr.  Kingsley  was  constantly  suf- 
fering from  the  ill-feeling  and  opposition  which  his  bold  sympathy 
with  the  working  classes  had  roused  in  the  minds  of  his  clerical 


360  WILLIAM    WHEWELL. 

superioi  i  and  brethren.  As  compensation  for  this,  he  seems  to  have 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  workingraen  to  a  degree  hardly  excelled 
by  any  other  man  in  England. 

As  Kingsley  grew  older,  as  the  rights  of  the  poor  found  more 
champions,  his  opinions  seemed  less  singular,  and  the  prejudice 
created  by  his  way  of  stating  them  lessened.  The  reverence  of  the 
man  for  sacred  things  now  found  a  voice  in  sermons,  lectures,  and 
essays,  which  he  published  from  time  to  time. 

The  regius  professorship  of  modern  history  at  Cambridge  he  held 
from  1860  until  his  resignation  in  1869.  In  this  position  he  was 
very  successful  in  rousing  the  interest  of  the  undergraduates,  al- 
though the  character  of  his  work  received  much  criticism,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  unscholarly,  and  not  sufficiently  formal  in  method. 
In  1869  he  was  made  a  Canon  of  Chester  Cathedral,  and  in  1873  he 
accepted  a  vacant  stall  in  Westminster. 

Besides  his  contributions  to  religious,  social,  and  political  litera- 
ture, Mr.  Kingsley  was  a  poet  of  a  low  order.  The  pathos  of  some 
of  his  ballads  will  long  make  them  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  simple 
folk  who  were  their  inspiration.  Two  of  the  most  popular  are 
The  Three  Fishers  and  the  Sands  o'  Bee. 

The  Influence  of  the  Scientists. — The  science  of  the  nineteenth 
century  has  been  developed  in  two  very  different  directions — one  of 
them  practical,  the  other  speculative,  so  that  our  time  boasts  it.< 
great  discoverers  as  well  as  its  able  thinkers.  For  the  most  part, 
the  two  influences  have  gone  on  side  by  side.  Literature  lias  re- 
ceived an  impetus  from  minds  which  have  been  roused  into  activ- 
ity by  the  questions  and  answers  of  experimental  science. 

William  Whewell  (1794-1866)  was  a  man  of  whom  it  was  said, 
"  Science  is  his  forte  and  omniscience  is  his  foible."  He  graduated 
from  Cambridge  in  1816,  received  a  fellowship,  and  from  1828  to 
1832  was  professor  of  mineralogy.  He  was  elected  Professor  of 
Moral  Theology  in  1838,  master  of  Trinity  in  1841,  and  in  1855  vuo- 
chancellor  of  Cambridge. 

Dr.  Whewell  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions,  fond  of  argument 
and  inclined  to  selfassertion.  His  friendships  with  the  scientific 
men  of  his  time  were  numerous  and  cordial.  As  an  officer  of  Cam- 
bridge he  was  eminently  conservative. 


HERSCHEL,     FARADAY.  361 

His  contributions  to  literature  cover  a  large  number  of  subjects. 
Sir  John  Herschel  says  of  him  that  "  a  more  wonderful  variety 
and  amount  of  knowledge  in  almost  every  department  of  human 
inquiry  was  perhaps  never  in  the  same  interval  of  time  accumu- 
lated by  any  man."  Political  economy,  education,  mathematics,  and 
architecture  have  all  been  the  subjects  of  formal  treatises,  but  the 
works  upon  which  his  literary  reputation  mainly  rests  are  four:  The 
Bridgewater  Treatise  (1833),  History  of  the  Inductive  Sciences  (1837), 
Philosophy  of  the  Inductive  Sciences  (1840),  and  Lectures  on  the  His- 
tory of  Moral  Philosophy  in  En  gland  (1852).  In  all  his  writings  it 
was  one  of  Dr.  Whewell's  objects  to  reconcile  science  with  the  ortho- 
dox religious  views  of  his  time. 

Sir  John  Frederick  William  Herschel  (1793-1871).— A  gradu- 
ate of  Cambridge  in  1813,  he  was  distinguished  for  his  mathematical 
genius  and  for  his  studies  in  physical  science. 

His  service  to  literature  lies  in  what  he  has  done  to  make  the 
fruits  of  abstruse  research  in  his  profession  available  to  the  ordi- 
nary reader.  He  wrote  for  the  Encyclopaedia  Metropolitana,  for 
Lardner's  Cyclopaedia,  and  for  the  Edinburgh  and  London  quarter- 
lies. Clear,  vigorous  English,  vivid  and  happy  illustration  are 
found  in  all  his  writing,  but  the  work  displaying  the  best  merits  of 
his  style  is  the  Preliminary  Discourse  on  dhe  Study  of  Natural  Phil- 
osophy. 

Michael  Faraday  (1791-1867)  was  sent  at  thirteen  years  of  age 
to  be  errand-boy  for  a  London  bookseller.  In  this  shop  he  found 
scientific  books,  which  he  read  with  ardent  and  painstaking  curios- 
ity. From  this  time  his  education  consisted  of  the  opportunities 
for  reading  and  for  hearing  lectures  which  his  own  energy  or  the 
kindness  of  his  few  friends  brought  in  his  way.  In  181 3  he  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Royal  Institution.  During 
the  same  year  he  went  with  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  to  the  Continent, 
where  he  traveled  with  him  about  a  year  and  a  half.  This  tour  was 
all  that  Faraday  had  to  take  the  place  of  liberal  education  or  artis- 
tic culture.  On  his  return  in  1815  he  took  up  the  duties  of  his  po- 
sition with  so  much  energy  that  he  was  promoted  from  one  subor- 
dinate place  to  another,  until  in  1825  he  was  made  Director  of  the 
Royal  Institution.     Faraday  was  a  lecturer  of  great  popularity  and 


362  HUGH     MILLER. 

a  contributor  to  scientific  journals.  His  works  are  almost  entirely 
records  of  experiments  and  investigations.  The  style  is  clear  and 
simple,  often  rising  into  enthusiasm  when  the  author  treats  of  the 
wonders  of  nature  or  calls  attention  to  a  moral  truth. 

Hugh  Miller  (1802-1856)  was  a  descendant  of  buccaneers  and 
Highland  chiefs.  He  grew  up  in  Cromarty  in  daily  contact  with  a 
people  as  untamed  as  the  sea,  as  rugged  as  their  coast.  Books  and 
pedagogues  were  never  of  the  first  interest  to  a  lad  who  could  hear 
the  story  of  Culloden  from  men  who  fought  in  the  battle,  or  talk 
with  the  witness  of  the  last  witch-hanging  in  the  North  of  Scotland ; 
and  so  it  came  about  that  the  most  promising  boy  of  the  district 
shook  his  head  when  his  uncles  proposed  that  he  should  go  to  Aber- 
deen and  study  for  the  church.  They  accepted  his  decision,  and 
apprenticed  him  to  one  of  his  relatives,  who  was  a  stone-mason. 
Until  he  was  thirty-four  he  lived  in  the  midst  of  continual  toil, 
journeying  through  different  parts  of  Scotland  in  search  of  work. 
Meanwhile  his  education  did  not  stop;  his  hammer  was  always  at 
hand,  his  quick  eyes  always  alert  for  a  chance  to  use  it.  The  gangs 
of  workmen  with  whom  he  lived  had  to  get  used  to  the  silent  fel- 
low who  spent  hours  in  meditation.  He  made  himself  master  of 
the  best  English  and  Scotch  literature,  beginning  with  nursery  sto- 
ries and  Border  ballads,  Ifut  ending  with  Locke  and  the  Scotch 
Philosophy,  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  that  literary  style  which 
combines  the  excellences  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  nineteenth  cen- 
turies— a  style  of  which  Dr.  Buckland  said  that  he  would  give  his 
left  hand  to  possess  its  powers  of  description.  In  1829  Miller  pub- 
lished a  volume  of  poems,  but  his  best  poetry  after  all  is  in  his 
prose.  Miller  was  a  strong  Presbyterian,  and  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  ."  non-intrusion  "  controversy.  His  efforts  were  rewarded 
by  an  appointment  to  the  editorship  of  the  Witness.  His  position 
among  the  Edinburgh  journalists  was  deservedly  high.  The  articles 
which  came  from  his  pen  are  remarkable  for  thought  fulness,  high 
morality,  and  literary  finish.  The  Old  Red  Sandstone  appeared  in  a 
series  of  papers  in  the  Witness  during  the  first  year  of  his  editor- 
ship, and  revealed  his  discovery  of  fossils  in  a  formation  which  up 
to  that  time  had  been  deemed  almost  destitute  of  them.  The  Foot- 
steps of  the  Creator  w;is  written  to  oppose  the  development  theory 
as  embodied  in  the  Vestige*  of  the  Natural  History  of  Creation.     Mil- 


REVIEWERS     AKB     ESSAYISTS.  363 

ler  was  intimately  associated  with  Dr.  Chalmers  in  the  councils  of 
the  Free  Church,  and  worked  constantly  in  its  interests  in  spite  of 
increasing  ill  health.  His  overworked  brain  at  last  began  to  show 
signs  of  disease,  but  he  toiled  on  in  his  efforts  to  finish  the  Testimony 
of  the  Rocks  until  he  had  written  the  last  page,  and  awoke  to  the  con- 
sciousness that  his  mind  was  ruined.  The  strong  man  was  not  strong 
enough  to  meet  such  a  future,  and  he  shot  himself  Dec.  26,  1856. 

The  character  of  Hugh  Miller's  early  life  and  education  has  left 
its  imprint  upon  his  scientific  work  and  his  literary  style.  The  soli- 
tude of  his  unshared  tastes  through  so  many  years  forced  him  to  be 
independent  in  his  investigations,  and  gave  a  rugged  strength  to  the 
language  in  which  he  described  the  experiences  of  his  life. 

Keviewers  and  Essayists.— The  cheapness  of  printing  and  the 
increasing  readers  have  promoted  the  success  of  "periodicals." 
They  range  from  the  valuable  quarterlies,  through  the  various  forms 
of  magazine  and  review  down  to  the  daily  paper,  the  peculiar  feat- 
ure of  the  literature  of  the  times.  Some  of  the  most  valuable  es- 
says of  our  literature  have  appeared  in  these  publications.  Every 
shade  of  politics,  every  school  of  philosophy,  every  sect  of  religion, 
has  its  paper  or  its  magazine.  To  give  a  sketch  of  these  periodicals 
is  of  course  impossible,  but  the  Edinburgh  and  Quarterly  Reviews  and 
Blackwood's  Magazine  imparted  such  an  impulse  to  literature  as  to 
demand  a  few  words. 

The  Edinburgh  Review  was  established  in  1802  by  a  small  party 
of  young  men, — Brougham,  Jeffrey,  Sydney  Smith,  Horner, — ob- 
scure at  that  time,  but  ambitious  and  enterprising,  who 
1802]  were  all  destined  to  attain  distinction.  It  founded  its  claim 
to  success  upon  the  boldness  and  vivacity  of  its  tone,  its 
total  rejection  of  all  precedent  and  authority,  and  the  audacity  of 
its  discussions.  It  was  conducted  from  1803  to  1829  by  Francis 
Jeffrey  (333)  (1773-1850),  a  Scotch  advocate,  who  was  subsequently 
raised  to  the  bench.  He  wrote  critical  articles,  marked  by  vigor 
and  elegance  of  style,  and  usually  by  keen  discrimination.  Another 
of  the  most  important  of  the  early  contributors  to  the  Review,  who 
indeed  edited  the  first  number,  was  Sydney  Smith  (331,  332) 
(1771-1845),  an  English  clergyman,  and  in  the  later  period  of  his 
life  Canon  of  St.  Paul's.  He  wrote  chiefly  upon  political  and  prac- 
tical questions  with  a  richness  of  comic  humor  and  dry  sarcasm, 


364  JOHN      WILSON. 

which  is  not  only  exquisitely  amusing,  but  is  full  of  truth  as  well 
as  pleasantry. 

The  Edinburgh  was  reckless  of  fear  or  favor,  and  with  a  dashing 
and  attractive  style  it  fiercely  advocated  liberal  opinions.  To 
counteract  its  influence,  and  to  defend  the  Tories,  The  Quarterly  Re- 
view was  started  in  1809.  It  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  friends 
of  the  government,  and  immediately  obtained  a  literary  reputation 
at  least  equal  to  its  rival.  The  editorship  was  intrusted  to  Will- 
iam Gifford  (1757-1826),  the  translator  of  Juvenal,  and  the  author 
of  Baviad  and  Marviad,  two  powerful  satires — the  former  aimed  at 
the  second-rate  authors,  the  latter  at  the  dramatists  of  his  day. 
Gifford  was  a  self-taught  man,  who  had  raised  himself,  by  dint  of 
almost  superhuman  exertions  and  admirable  integrity,  to  a  high 
place  among  the  literary  men  of  his  age. 

He  was  succeeded  in  the  editorship  of  the  Quarterly,  after  a  short 
interregnum,  by  John  Gibson  Lockhart  (319)  (1794-1854),  the 
author  of  several  novels,  and  one  of  the  earliest  and  ablest  contribu- 
tors to  Blackwood's  Magazine.  Many  of  the  best  articles  in  the 
Quarterly  were  written  by  himself.  In  1820  he  married  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  in  1837-39  he  published  his 
charming  Life  of  his  father-in-law.  He  deserves  the  fame  he  has 
as  a  biographer.  His  Life  of  Napoleon,  which  appeared  without 
the  author's  name,  is  far  superior  to  many  more  ambitious  per- 
formances. 

Blackwood's  Magazine  first  appeared  in  1817,  and  was  distin- 
guished by  the  ability  of  its  purely  literary  articles,  as  well  as  by 
the  violence  of  its  political  sentiments.  Among  the  many  able  men 
who  wrote  for  it,  the  most  eminent  was  John  Wilson  (318)  (1785- 
1854),  the  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant.  Alter  studying  at  Oxford, 
he  took  up  his  abode  on  the  banks  of  the  Windermere,  attracted 
thither  by  the  society  of  Wordsworth,  Southey,  and  Coleridge. 
Wilson  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Wordsworth,  whose  style  he 
adopted,  to  some  extent,  in  his  own  poems,  the  Isle  of  Palm*  and 
TJie  City  after  the  Plague.  The  year  before  the  publication  of  the 
latter  poem,  Wilson  had  been  compelled,  by  the  loss  of  his  fortune, 
to  remove  to  Edinburgh,  and  to  adopt  literature  as  a  profession. 
Though  Mr.  Blackwood  was  the  editor  of  his  own  magazine,  Wil- 
son was  the  presiding  spirit,  and  under  the  name  of  Christopher 
North  and  other  pseudonyms  he  poured  forth  ai tide  after  article. 


CHAELES     LAMB.  365 

His  Nodes  Ambrosianm,  in  which  politics,  literary  criticism,  and 
fun  were  intermingled,  gained  great  popularity.  I  lis  pathetic  tales, 
the  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Scottish  Life,  and  a  novel,  The  Trials  of 
Margaret  Lindsey,  show  the'  gentle,  genial  spirit  of  this  eloquent 
author.  In  1820,  as  a  competitor  of  Sir  William  Hamilton,  he  was 
elected  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at  Edinburgh. 

William  Hazlitt  (338)  1778-1830,  son  of  a  Unitarian  minister, 
was  educated  for  an  artist,  but  lived  by  literature.  He  was  one  of 
the  best  critics  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  century.  His  paradoxes 
are  a  little  startling,  and  sometimes  lead  him  astray ;  but  there  is  a 
delicacy  of  taste,  a  richness  of  imagination,  and  a  perceptive  power 
that  make  him  a  worthy  second  to  De  Quincey.  His  style  is  vivid 
and  picturesque,  and  his  discernment  of  character  is  clear.  His 
chief  works  are  Principles  of  Human  Action,  Characters  of  Shake- 
speare's Plays,  Table  Talk,  Lectures  on  various  authors,  Essays  on 
English  novelists  in  the  Edinburgh,  and  a  Life  of  Napoleon  in  four 
volumes. 

It  would  be  impossible  in  our  limits  to  give  an  account  of  the 
many  other  writers  who  distinguished  themselves  by  their  contribu- 
tions to  the  Reviews  and  Magazines;  but  in  addition  to  those 
already  mentioned  two  essayists  stand  forth  pre-eminent— Charles 
Lamb  and  Thomas  De  Quincey. 

Charles  Lamb  (334,  335)  (1775-1834),  a  poor  man's  son,  was 
educated  at  Christ's  Hospital.  He  was  a  Londoner :  London  life  sup- 
plied him  with  his  richest  materials,  and  his  mind  was  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  older  writers.  During  the  early  and  greater  part  of 
bis  life,  Lamb,  poor  and  unfriended,  was  drudging  as  a  clerk  in  the 
India  House;  and  it  was  not  until  late  in  life  that  he  was  released 
from  the  desk.  There  was  a  dark  shadow  above  his  path,  for  his 
beloved  sister  Mary,  ten  years  older  than  himself,  was  subject  to  fits 
of  insanity.  In  one  of  these  fits  she  had  killed  her  mother.  That 
sad  event,  and  the  sad  care  which  Lamb  gave  to  his  sister,  imparted 
a  tender  melancholy  to  his  writings,  even  where  they  seem  to  abound 
in  good  humor.  The  brother  and  sister  lived  together  for  thirty-eight 
years  after  the  death  of  their  mother,  each  devotedly  attached  to  the 
other.  They  shared  in  the  authorship  and  publication  of  four  juve- 
nile works — Mrs.  Leicester's  School,  Tales  from  Shakespeare,  The  Ad- 


366  CHARLES     LAMB. 

venture*  of  Ulysses,  and  Poetry  for  Children.  In  Lamb's  earliest 
compositions,  such  as  the  drama  of  John  Woodvil,  and  subsequently 
in  the  Essays  of  Ella,  although  the  world  at  first  perceived  a  mere 
imitation  of  the  quaintness  of  expression  of  the  old  writers,  there 
was  in  reality  a  revival  of  their  very  spirit.  The  Essays  of  Elia, 
contributed  by  him  at  different  times  to  The  London  Magazine,  are 
surpassingly  fine  for  humor,  taste,  penetration,  and  vivacity.  Where 
shall  we  find  such  intense  delicacy  of  feeling,  such  unimaginable 
happiness  of  expression,  such  a  searching  into  the  very  body  of 
truth,  as  in  these  unpretending  compositions  ?  The  style  has  a  pe- 
culiar and  most  subtle  charm  ;  not  the  result  of  labor,  for  it  is  found 
in  as  great  perfection  in  his  familiar  letters — a  certain  quaintness 
and  antiquity,  not  affected  in  Lamb,  but  the  natural  garb  of  his 
thoughts.  As  in  all  true  humorists,  his  pleasantry  was  allied  with 
the  finest  pathos;  the  merry  jest  on  the  tongue  was  but  the  com- 
mentary on  the  tear  which  trembled  in  the  eye.  The  inspiration 
that  other  poets  find  in  the  mountains,  in  the  forest,  in  the  sea, 
Lamb  could  draw  from  the  crowd  of  Fleet-street,  from  the  remem- 
brances of  an  old  actor,  from  the  benchers  of  the  Temple. 

Lamb  was  the  schoolfellow,  the  devoted  admirer  and  friend  ol 
Coleridge.  Coleridge  says  of  him :  "  Believe  me,  no  one  is  compe- 
tent to  judge  of  poor  dear  Charles  who  has  uot  known  him  long 
and  well,  as  I  have  done.  His  heart  is  as  whole  as  his  head.  The 
wild  words  which  sometimes  come  from  him  on  religious  subjects 
might  startle  you  from  the  mouth  of  any  other  man ;  but  in  him 

they  are  mere  flashes  of  firework Catch   him  when 

alone,  and  the  great  odds  are  you  will  find  him  with  the  Bible  or 
an  old  divine  before  him,  or  may  be,  and  that  is  the  next  door  in 
excellence,  an  old  English  poet ;  in  such  is  his  pleasure." 

There  never  was  a  man  more  beloved  by  all  his  contemporaries, 
by  men  of  every  opinion,  of  every  shade  of  literary,  political 
and  religious  sentiment.  His  Specimens  of  the  Old  English  Drama- 
tists first  showed  to  modern  readers  what  treasures  of  poetry 
lay  concealed  in  the  unknown  writers  of  the  Elizabethan  age. 
Indeed,  Lamb's  mind,  in  its  sensitiveness,  in  its  mixture  of  wit 
and  pathos,  was  eminently  Shakespearean  ;  and  his  intense  and  rev- 
erent study  of  the  works  of  Shakespeare  doubtless  gave  this  tend- 
ency. In  his  poems,  as,  for  instance,  the  Farewell  to  TfeftaMO,  t he 
Old  Familiar  Faces,  and  his  few  but  beautiful  sonnets,  W€  find  the 


THOMAS     CARLYLE.  36? 

very  essence  and  spirit  of  this  quaint  tenderness  of  fancy,  the  siin« 
plicity  of  the  child  mingled  with  the  learning  of  the  scholar. 

Thomas  de  Quincey  (1785-1859)  was  one  .of  the  masters  of  Eng- 
lish prose.  He  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  Manchester  merchant. 
After  leaving  Oxford  he  settled  at  Grasmere,  and  became  intimate 
with  Wordsworth,  Southey,  and  Coleridge.  There  he  became  a 
slave  to  the  habit  of  opium-eating.  After  many  years  of  indul- 
gence, and  by  a  most  desperate  struggle,  he  broke  the  chain  that 
had  bound  him.  The  last  thirty-eight  years  of  his  life  he  was  a 
resident  of  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh. 

The  best  known  of  his  writings,  the  Confessions  of  an  Opium-eater 
(329,  330),  made  a  great  sensation  upon  its  publication  in  1821. 
The  sketches  of  his  experience  with  the  drug  are  fearfully  vivid 
and  picturesque,  while  in  places  the  ridicule  of  himself  is  keen 
and  amusing.  His  language  sometimes  soars  to  astonishing  heights 
of  eloquence.  Some  of  his  essays  are  almost  exclusively  humorous, 
among  which  Murder  Considered  as  One  of  the  Fine  Arts  is  the  best 
known.  An  able  critic,  in  the  London  Quarterly  Beview,  No.  219, 
thus  sums  up  his  literary  merits : — "  A  great  master  of  English  com- 
position ;  a  critic  of  uncommon  delicacy ;  an  honest  and  unflinching 
investigator  of  received  opinions ;  a  philosophic  inquirer,  second 
only  to  his  first  and  sole  hero  (Coleridge),  De  Quincey  has  left  no 
successor  to  his  rank.  The  exquisite  finish  of  his  style,  with  the 
scholastic  rigor  of  his  logic,  form  a  combination  which  centuries 
may  never  reproduce,  but  which  every  generation  should  study  as 
one  of  the  marvels  of  English  literature." 

Thomas  Carlyle  (1795-1881)— a  man  unlike  all  other  men  of  let- 
ters ;  so  out  of  sympathy  with  the  epoch  in  which  he  has  written 
that  he  is  called  "  the  censor  of  his  age  ; "  so  versatile  in  talent  that 
he  may  be  classed  among  philosophers,  or  historians,  or  biographers, 
or  essayists — shall  stand  by  himself  in  our  discussion.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  Scotch  village  mason.  He  was  reared  to  a  thorough  hatred 
of  insincerity.  His  early  studies  gave  him  special  pleasure  in 
mathematics  ;  for  in  them  he  found  the  satisfaction  of  dealing  with 
demonstrable  truth.  His  education  was  intended  to  fit  him  for  the 
work  of  a  clergyman  in  the  Scottish  Kirk ;  but  he  did  not  take 
kindly  to  that  calling,  and,  after  pitiful  mental  suffering  in  trying  to 


368  THOMAS     CABLYLE. 

comply  with  the  plans  which  had  been  made  for  him,  he  abandoned 
them.  His  inclination  was  towards  a  literary  career.  He  was  a 
prodigious  reader.  When  Dickens  was  engaged  in  writing  the  TdU 
of  Two  Cities,  he  asked  Carlyle  to  lend  him  a  few  books  which 
should  give  him  vivid  glimpses  of  the  French  Revolution.  The 
next  day  Dickens  was  amazed  by  seeing  a  dray  stop  at  his  door 
loaded  with  books  written  in  half  a  dozen  languages,  all  of  them 
dealing  with  that  subject.  Such  was  Carlyle's  idea  of  "  a  few 
books."  He  was  the  most  accomplished  of  Englishmen  in  the  Ger- 
man language  and  literature.  Like  Coleridge,  his  thought  and  his 
style  were  strongly  influenced  by  studies  in  German. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  literary  career,  Carlyle  wrote  uncompro- 
mising and  vigorous  criticism  of  his  nation  and  of  his  age.  Nor 
did  his  fury  abate.  Until  the  end  of  his  life  he  was  sensitive  to 
shams — was,  perhaps,  too  qu;ck  in  thinking  that  he  detected  them, 
and  was  desperate  in  his  assault  upon  them.  His  first  work  as  a 
writer  of  books  was  a  translation  of  Legendre's  Geometry,  with 
an  original  "Essay  on  Proportion."  This  was  followed  by  a  Life 
of  Schiller.  Its  unlikeness  to  conventional  biography — its  free- 
dom from  minute  narration,  its  brilliant  analysis  of  character,  at- 
tracted critical  attention,  and  won  much  applause  for  the  anony- 
mous author.  In  1826  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  Welsh,  a  de- 
scendant of  John  Knox.  To  her  }>atience  with  his  temperament, 
and  to  her  ambition,  devoted  to  him,  he  owes  much  of  his  success. 
Before  his  name  was  known  in  literary  circles  he  had  become  weary 
of  life  among  men,  and  had  removed  his  home  from  Edinburgh  to 
a  small  estate  belonging  to  his  wife,  at  Craigenputtoch,  a  lonely 
place  in  Dumfriesshire.  4'I  came  hither,"  he  said,  "solely  with  the 
design  to  simplify  my  way  of  life,  and  to  secure  the  independence 
through  which  I  could  be  enabled  to  remain  true  to  myself."  His 
pen  was  busy.  Essay  after  essay  was  published  by  him — some  of 
them  revealing  to  English  readers  the  beauty  of  modern  Gei  man 
thought,  some  of  them  biographical,  giving  new  and  jotter  vi< 
the  character  portrayed.  It  was  at  this  time  that  his  famous  essay 
on  Burns  was  written.  Six  years  of  toil  and  isolation  were  passed 
at  Craigenputtoch.  The  brightest  social  incident  of  those  years,  as 
Carlyle  recalled  them,  was  his  first  meeting  and  his  night  of  con- 
versation with  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  an  admirer  who  had  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  dreary  hermitage. 


THOMAS     CARLYLE.  369 

Sartor  Besartus  ("The  Tailor  Done  Over")  was  written  in  1831. 
Cariyle  met  many  discouragements  in  seeking  its  publisher.  He 
was  even  constrained  to  take  up  his  residence  in  London  in  order 
that  he  might  the  more  faithfully  prosecute  the  search.  When 
Fraser's  Magazine  published  the  work  as  a  serial  in  1833-4,  it 
aroused  much  ridicule  and  rebuke.  A  few  thoughtful  readers 
found  it  a  delight.  In  style  it  was  barbarous,  in  thought  it  was 
fresh  and  stimulating.  The  number  of  its  attentive  readers  steadily 
increased,  until  it  was  recognized  as  having  an  influence  over  Eng- 
lish thought  greater  than  any  other  work  of  that  generation.  The 
underlying  idea  of  the  book  is  that  social  organizations  are  but  the 
garments  of  social  life,  and  that  they  are  so  outworn  as  to  be  un- 
sightly and  almost  worthless.  Humor,  pathos,  satire,  poetic  senti- 
ment give  charm  to  its  pages. 

The  French  Revolution,  a  History  (1837)  was  the  first  of  Carlyle's 
works  which  bore  the  author's  name.  As  a  history  it  is  unique. 
There  is  not  even  continuity  of  narrative.  Characters  seen  in  a 
flash  of  light,  incidents,  epochs  are  selected  and  portrayed  with 
thrilling  vividness. 

In  the  three  years  following  Cariyle  delivered  before  small  audi- 
ences of  his  admirers  courses  of  lectures  on  literary,  historical,  and 
philosophical  themes.  The  reporter's  notes  of  one  course  of  these 
lectures  were  written  out  into  the  volume  of  Heroes  and  Hero  Wor- 
ship (1841).  Past  and  Present,  published  in  1843,  was  an  attack 
upon  the  unheroic  spirit  of  the  English  aristocracy.  The  Life  and 
Letters  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  with  Elucidations,  published  in  1845,  was 
the  attempt  of  a  Cromwell  in  literature  to  give  vindication  of  the 
character  and  achievements  of  the  Protector.  In  1864  the  History 
of  Frederick  II.,  commonly  called  Frederick  the  Great,  appeared. 
Preparation  for  writing  it  had  cost  Cariyle  fifteen  years  of  labor. 
Publications  relating  to  his  theme,  unpublished  records  of  state 
correspondence,  minute  points  of  scenery — all  details  of  record  and 
of  scenery  had  been  studied  to  fit  him  for  the  narration  of  his 
story.  His  respect  for  Frederick  II.  had  attracted  him  to  this  task, 
and  yet  he  gives  his  reader  to  understand  that  Frederick  should 
command  admiration  not  for  greatness,  but  for  the  reason  that  "he 
managed  not  to  be  a  liar  and  a  charlatan  as  his  century  was." 

Carlyle's  last  years  were  given  to  quiet  ways.  His  pen  was  sel- 
dom used.     Those  who  had  access  to  him  found  him  one  of  the 


370  THOMAS    CARLYLE. 

most  entertaining  men  in  conversation.  His  thoughts  were  those 
of  a  rugged  Scotchman  who  revered  intellectual  worth.  His  speech 
had  the  attractiveness  of  a  broad  and  emphatic  Scotch  accent. 

Carlyle's  literary  style  has  been  loudly  and  justly  condemned.  It 
is  usually  jagged  and  intricate,  a  mixture  of  terse  English  vocabu- 
lary with  involved  German  structure  of  sentence.  At  first  it  seems 
like  the  belching  of  a  volcanic  mind;  but  after  careful  scrutiny 
it  is  found  to  be  the  studied  expression  of  a  mighty  rhetorician 
who  seeks  not  grace,  but  vividness ;  not  elegance,  but  power. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered : — 

The  English  Literature  of  the  Nineteenth  Century, 

1.  The  New  Literature  of  History. 

Thirlwall,  Grote,  Macaulay,  Hallam,  Mil- 
man,  Buckle. 

2.  The  Literature  of  Philosophy. 

a.  The    Scottish     School;     Reid,     Stewart, 

Brown,  Hamilton. 

b.  The  English  School ;  The  Mills,  Bent  ham, 

Lewes. 

3.  Influence  of  the  Clergy. 

Whately,  Keble,  Robertson,  Maurice,  Kings- 
ley. 

4.  Influence  of  Scientists. 

Whewell,  Herschel,  Faraday,  Miller. 
5*  Reviewers  and  Essftyists. 

Smith,  Gi/ford,    Lock  hart.    Wilson,    Hazlitt, 
Lamb,  De  Quincey,  Carlyle. 


CHAPTEB    XXV!!!. 

THE  MODERN   NOVELISTS. 

THE  department  of  English  literature  which  has  been  culti- 
vated during  the  latter  half  of  the  last  and  the  first  half  of  the 
present  century  with  the  greatest  assiduity  and  success,  is  prose 
fiction.  Its  authors  and  their  productions  should  be  classified 
under  the  two  general  divisions  of  fiction  as  they  were  set  forth  in 
a  preceding  chapter,  viz.  :  I.  Romances  properly  so  called,  *.  e.,  the 
narration  of  picturesque  and  romantic  adventures ;  II.  Novels,  or 
pictures  of  real  life  and  society. 

I.  Romances. — The  impulse  to  this  branch  of  composition  was 
first  given  by  Horace  Walpole  (1717-1797)  (326),  the  fastidious 
dilettante  and  brilliant  chronicler  of  the  court  scandal  of  his  day  ; 
a  man  of  singularly  acute  penetration,  of  sparkling  epigrammatic 
style,  but  devoid  of  enthusiasm  and  elevation.  He  retired  early 
from  political  life,  and  shut  himself  up  in  his  little  fantastic  Gothic 
castle  of  Strawberry  Hill,  to  collect  armor,  medals,  manuscripts, 
and  painted  glass;  and  to  chronicle  with  malicious  assiduity,  in 
his  vast  and  brilliant  correspondence,  the  absurdities,  follies,  and 
weaknesses  of  his  day.  The  Castle  of  Otranto  is  a  short  tale,  writ- 
ten with  great  rapidity  and  without  preparation.  It  was  the  first 
successful  attempt  to  take  the  Feudal  Age  as  the  period,  and  the 
passion  of  mysterious,  superstitious  terror  as  the  motive  in  the 
action  of  an  interesting  fiction.  The  manners  are  absurd  and  un- 
natural, the  character  of  the  heroine  being  one  of  those  portraits  in 
which  the  sentimental  languor  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  added 
to  the  gentlewoman  of  the  Middle  Ages — in  short,  one  of  those 
contradictions  to  be  found  in  all  the  romantic  fictions  before  Scott. 

Mrs.  Ann  Radcliffe. — The  success  of  Walpole's  original  and 
cleverly-written  tale  encouraged  other  and  more  accomplished  art- 
ists to  follow  in  the  same  track.  The  most  popular  of  this  class 
was  Mrs.  Ann  Radcliffe  (1764-1823),  whose  numerous  romances  ap- 


372  MRS.      SHELLEY. 

peal  with  power  to  the  emotion  of  fear.  Her  two  greatest  %vorks 
are  The  Romance  of  the  Forest  and  The  Myderies  of  Udolpho.  The 
personages  of  these  stories  have  no  more  individuality  than  the 
pieces  of  a  chess-board ;  but  they  are  made  the  exponents  of  such 
terrible  and  intense  fear,  suffering,  and  suspense,  that  we  sympa- 
thize with  their  fate  as  if  they  were  real.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
century  her  romances  were  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  read- 
ers. Men  of  letters — Talfourd,  Byron,  Scott- applauded  her:  but 
her  fame  is  declining,  and  she  is  now  known  only  by  the  students 
of  literature.  The  effect  of  this  kind  of  writing  was  so  powerful 
that  it  was  attempted  by  a  crowd  of  authors.  Most  of  them  are 
forgotten ;  but  there  are  two  other  names  worthy  of  special  men- 
tion. 

Matthew  Gregory  Lewis  (1775-1818),  a  good-natured,  effemi- 
nate man  of  fashion,  the  friend  of  Byron,  and  one  of  the  early  liter- 
ary advisers  of  Scott,  was  the  first  to  introduce  into  England  a  taste 
for  the  German  literature  of  that  day,  with  its  spectral  ballads  and 
enchantments.  He  was  a  man  of  lively  imagination  ;  and  besides 
bis  metrical  translations  of  the  ballads  of  Burger,  he  published  in 
his  twentieth  year  a  prose  romance  called  The  Monk,  one  of  the 
boldest  of  hobgoblin  stories. 

Mrs.  Shelley  (1798-1851),  the  wife  of  the  poet,  and  the  daughter 
of  William  Godwin,  wrote  the  powerful  tale  of  Frankenstein.  Its 
hero,  a  young  student  of  physiology,  succeeds  in  constructing,  out 
of  the  horrid  remnants  of  the  churchyard  and  dissecting-room,  a 
monster,  to  which  he  afterwards  gives  life.  Some  of  the  chief 
appearances  of  the  monster,  particularly  the  moment  when  he 
begins  to  move  for  the  first  time,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  book, 
among  the  eternal  snows  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  are  managed  with 
a  striking  and  breathless  effect,  that  makes  us  for  a  moment  forget 
the  extravagance  of  the  tale. 

IT.  The  Novel.— No  field  of  literature  can  be  compared  in  fruit- 
fulness  with  the  English  novel  of  the  century  just  passed.  A  story 
of  human  life  appeals  to  human  sympathy  as  nothing  else  can ;  and 
the  novelist  has  but  to  take  advantage  of  that  fact.  Moreover,  he 
finds  inexhaustible  resources.  Each  one  of  the  possible  localities 
for  the  scene  of  a  story,  and  each  one  of  the  infinite  variations  of 


WILLIAM     GODWIN.  373 

human  character  are  ready  to  answer  his  summons.  The  romance 
appeals  to  the  credulity,  to  the  curiosity  of  a  reader  ;  the  novel  may 
speak  to  the  tenderest  and  most  intelligent  sympathies. 

In  this  vast  field  of  authorship  we  merely  glance  at  a  few  writers 
who  have  been  most  popular.  Kichardson,  Fielding,  and  Smollett, 
the  first  great  English  novelists,  and  Walter  Scott,  poet  and  novelist, 
have  already  found  their  appropriate  places  in  our  discussion. 

Frances  Burney  (1752-1840)  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Burney, 
author  of  the  History  of  Music.  While  yet  residing  at  her  father's 
house,  she,  in  moments  of  leisure,  composed  the  novel  of  Evelina, 
published  in  1778.  She  did  not  even  communicate  to  her  father 
the  secret  of  her  having  written  it,  until  the  astonishing  success  of 
the  fiction  rendered  her  avowal  triumphant  and  almost  necessary. 
Evelina  was  followed  in  1782  by  Cecilia,  a  novel  of  the  same 
character.  In  1786  Miss  Burney  received  an  appointment  in  the 
household  of  Queen  Charlotte,  where  she  remained  till  her  marriage 
with  Count  d'Arblay,  a  French  refugee  officer.  She  published 
after  her  marriage  a  novel  entitled  Camilla,  and  two  years  after  her 
death  her  Diary  and  Letters  appeared. 

An  eminent  place  in  this  class  of  writers  belongs  to  William 
Godwin  (1756-1836),  a  man  of  powerful  and  original  genius,  who 
devoted  his  whole  life  to  the  propagation  of  social  and  political 
theories — visionary,  indeed,  and  totally  impracticable,  but  marked 
with  the  impress  of  benevolence  and  philanthropy.  His  long  life  was 
incessantly  occupied  with  literary  activity.  The  first  and  finest  of 
his  fictions  is  Caleb  Williams  (1794).  Its  aim  is  to  show  the  misery 
and  injustice  arising  from  the  present  imperfect  constitution  of 
society,  and  the  oppression  of  defective  laws,  not  merely  those  of 
the  statute-book,  but  also  those  of  social  feeling  and  public  opinion. 
Caleb  Williams  is  an  intelligent  peasant-lad,  taken  into  the  service  of 
Falkland.  Falkland,  the  true  hero,  is  an  incarnation  of  honor,  in- 
tellect, benevolence,  and  passionate  love  of  fame,  who,  in  a  moment 
of  ungovernable  passion,  has  committed  a  murder,  for  which  he  al- 
lows an  innocent  man  to  be  executed.  This  circumstance,  partly 
by  accident,  partly  by  his  master's  voluntary  confession,  Williams 
/earns,  and  is  in  consequence  pursued  through  the  greater  part  of 
the  tale  by  the  unrelenting  persecution  of  Falkland,  who  is  now 


374  MARIA     EDGE  WORTH. 

led,  by  his  frantic  and  unnatural  devotion  to  fame,  to  annihilate,  in 
Williams,  the  evidence  of  his  guilt.  The  adventures  of  the  unfor- 
tunate fugitive,  his  dreadful  vicissitudes  of  poverty  and  distress, 
the  steady  pursuit,  the  escapes  and  disguise3  of  the  victim,  like  the 
agonized  turnings  and  doublings  of  the  hunted  hare — all  this  is  so 
depicted  that  the  reader  follows  the  story  with  breathless  interest. 
At  last  Caleb  is  accused  by  Falkland  of  robbery,  and  naturally  dis- 
closes before  the  tribunal  the  dreadful  secret  which  has  caused  his 
long  persecution,  and  Falkland  dies  of  shame  and  a  broken  heart. 
The  interest  of  this  tale  is  indescribable ;  the  various  scenes  are  set 
before  us  with  something  of  the  minute  reality  and  simplicity  of 
Defoe.  "  There  is  no  work  of  fiction  which  more  rivets  the  atten- 
tion— no  tragedy  which  exhibits  a  struggle  more  sublime,  or  suffer- 
ing more  intense,  than  this;  yet  to  produce  the  effect,  no  compli- 
cated machinery  is  employed,  but  the  springs  of  action  are  few  and 
simple."  * 

Maria  Edgeworth  (1767-1849)  passed  nearly  all  of  her  long  and 
useful  life  in  Ireland.  Many  of  her  earlier  works  were  produced  in 
partnership  with  her  father,  Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth,  a  man  of 
eccentric  character,  and  of  great  intellectual  activity.  The  most 
valuable  series  of  Miss  Edgeworth's  educational  stories  were  the 
charming  tales  entitled  FranJc,  Harry  and  Lucy,  Rosamond,  and 
others  combined  under  the  general  heading  of  Early  Lessons.  These 
are  written  in  the  simplest  style,  and  are  intelligible  and  interesting 
even  to  very  young  readers ;  while  the  knowledge  of  character 
they  display,  the  naturalness  of  their  incidents,  and  the  practical 
principles  they  inculcate,  make  them  delightful  even  to  the  adult 
reader.  The  first,  the  most  original,  and  the  best  of  her  stories  is 
OadU  RacJcrent.  Abounding  in  humor  and  pathos,  it  sets  forth 
with  dramatic  effect  the  follies  and  vices  of  the  Irish  landlords,  who 
have  caused  so  much  of  the  misery  of  the  Irish  people.  In  the  novel. 
of  Patronage,  and  The  Absentee,  other  social  mors,  either  peculiar 
to  that  country  or  common  to  many  countries,  are  powerfully  de- 
lineated. Miss  Edgeworth  has  done  for  her  countrymen  what  Scott 
did  with  such  loving  genius  for  the  Scottish  people.  The  s 
rendered  by  her  to  the  cause  of  common  sense  are  incalculable. 
Walter  Scott  says  that  "  Some  one  has  described  the  novels  of  Mis-- 

*  T.  N.  Talfourd. 


CHARLOTTE     BRONTE.  375 

Edgeworth  as  a  sort  of  essence  of  common  sense,  and  the  definition 
is  not  inappropriate."  The  singular  absence  of  enthusiasm  in  her 
writings,  whether  religious,  political,  or  social,  only  makes  us  won- 
der at  the  force,  vivacity,  and  consistency  with  which  she  has  drawn 
a  large  and  varied  gallery  of  characters. 

Jane  Austen  (1775-1817),  was  the  daughter  of  a  clergyman,  well 
connected.  Miss  Austen's  life  was  marked  by  elegant  moderation. 
Thousands  of  women  of  her  rank  in  England  lived  as  she  did,  mas- 
tering the  intricacies  of  needlework  and  endearing  themselves  to 
their  families.  Miss  Austen's  letters  show  little  interest  in  the  ex- 
citing politics  or  in  the  literary  questions  of  her  day.  So  com- 
pletely did  she  identify  herself  with  the  class  to  which  she  belonged, 
that  few  of  her  acquaintances  suspected  her  power.  Many  of  them 
would  have  echoed  the  question  of  the  verger  who,  pointing  to  her 
grave,  asked,  "  Pray,  sir,  can  you  tell  me  whether  there  was  any- 
thing particular  about  that  lady  ?  "  The  recognition  of  her  literary 
worth,  which  came  tardily,  has  been  hearty.  Lord  Macaulay  is 
only  the  most  illustrious  of  the  critics  who  have  assigned  to  her  a 
high  rank  as  a  novelist.  She  is  pre-eminently  the  literary  artist  of 
the  commonplace.  Under  her  skilful  hand  the  conventional  Eng- 
lish drawing-room  becomes  a  theatre,  where  oddities,  foibles,  and 
sterling  worth  have  their  well-appointed  parts.  The  reader  is  not 
worked  up  to  a  pitch  of  enthusiasm  by  delineations  of  passion,  or 
by  the  analysis  of  emotions  ;  but  he  is  often  amused  and  always  in- 
terested by  the  exercise  of  an  art  so  perfect  that  it  is  almost  unsus- 
pected. The  most  brilliant  of  Miss  Austen's  novels  is  Pride  and 
Prejudice  (1813).  Her  other  works  are  Sense  and  Sensibility  (1811), 
Mansfield  Park  (1814),  Emma  (1816).  Northanger  Alley  and  Per- 
suasion were  not  published  until  after  her  death,  although  the 
former  was  the  first  novel  she  wrote. 

Charlotte  Bronte  (1816-1855)  was  the  daughter  of  a  clergyman 
of  Haworth  in  Yorkshire.  Her  career  is  an  illustration  of  the  in- 
fluence of  early  impressions  and  surroundings  upon  the  mind.  Of 
six  motherless  children  left  to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Patrick  Bronte, 
only  four  lived  long  enough  to  see  in  him  anything  but  a  stem  and 
self-occupied  man,  who  set  them  tasks  or  interrupted  their  play 
with  horrid  stories  that  made  them  afraid  to  go  to  bed  at  night. 


376  MART     KUSSELL     MIT  FORD. 

The  scenery  of  Yorkshire  was  bleak  and  forbidding,  the  house  in 
which  the  family  lived  damp  and  unhealthy — its  outlook  the  parish 
graveyard;  but  the  children  growing  up  amid  such  surroundings 
were  sensitive  to  every  change  in  the  face  of  the  stern  landscape,  and 
came  to  love  it  with  a  passionate  devotion.  Their  few  opportuni- 
ties for  gaining  culture  threw  them  back  with  a  despairing  reliance 
upon  their  own  resources.  Of  these  six  children,  three  have  been 
known  as  the  writers  of  remarkable  books.  One  of  them,  Char- 
lotte, gained  a  literary  success  which  has  put  her  name  in  the  list  of 
the  most  powerful  writers  of  fiction.  Her  books  were  all  written 
in  the  stress  of  mental  suffering,  the  materials  were  taken  from  her 
own  limited  experience,  thus  making  it  almost  necessary  that  what- 
ever of  force  or  of  originality  existed  in  the  writer  should  be  repro- 
duced in  the  words.  Charlotte  Bronte's  words  are  protests  against 
the  conventionality  which  has  from  time  to  time  threatened  to  de- 
stroy the  vigor  of  English  thinking,  the  health  of  its  social  life,  and 
the  power  of  its  religion.  While  Thackeray's  satire  was  uncover- 
ing the  shams  of  society,  Miss  Bronte  gave  a  powerful  delineation 
of  the  realities  which  society  was  ignoring.  Her  influence  began 
and  ended  abruptly.  The  popular  admiration  which  exaggerated 
her  merits,  and  the  popular  criticism  which  blackened  her  faults, 
have  both  died  away,  and  the  critic  may  make  a  calm  and  fair  esti- 
mate of  the  services  of  the  woman  who  was  the  literary  forerunner 
of  George  Eliot. 

The  tenor  of  Miss  Bronte's  life  was  uneventful.  For  years  sick- 
ness and  death  were  almost  the  only  variations  in  the  monotonous 
story  of  the  Haworth  parsonage.  Jane  Eyre  was  published  in  1847 
over  the  name  of  Currer  Bell,  and  made  a  sensation.  Sliirhy  was 
published  in  1849,  and  VUlette  in  1853.  Shirley  is  the  only  one  of 
Miss  Bronte's  works  which  displays  any  humor,  while  VUlette  is  by 
far  the  most  deserving  of  praise  for  artistic  finish.  In  1854  Miss 
Bronte*  married  Mr.  Nicholls,  her  father's  curate,  and  gave  up  all 
literary  ambition.  She  died  in  1855.  Her  life  has  been  written  by 
Mrs.  Gaskell,  herself  a  novelist  of  great  merit. 

The  charming  sketches  of  Mary  Russell  Mitford  (1789-1855),  a 
lady  who  has  described  the  village  life  and  scenery  of  BngUftd  with 
the  grace  and  delicacy  of  Goldsmith  himself,  seem  destined  to  hold 
a  place  in  our  literature  long  after  the  once  popular  novels  of  her 


FREDERICK     MAERYATT.  377 

famous  contemporaries  shall  have  been  forgotten.  Our  Village  is 
one  of  the  most  delightful  books  in  the  language.  Miss  Mitford 
describes  with  the  truth  and  fidelity  of  Crabbe  and  Cowper,  but 
without  the  moral  gloom  of  the  one,  or  the  morbid  sadness  of  the 
other. 

Frederick  Marryat. — The  immense  colonial  possessions  of  Great 
Britain,  and  the  Englishman's  passion  for  knowing  about  foreign 
nations,  have  turned  the  attention  of  English  novelists  to  the  de- 
lineation of  the  manners  and  scenery  of  ancient  and  distant  coun- 
tries. They  have  also  found  ready  applause  for  stories  of  sea-life. 
England's  cherished  pride  over  her  long  supremacy  on  the  sea  has 
given  the  masses  of  her  readers  admiration  for  the  sailor,  and  sym- 
pathy with  the  hardships  of  his  life.  Captain  Marryat  (1792-1848), 
one  of  the  most  easy,  lively,  and  truly  humorous  story-tellers, 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  marine  novelists.  High,  effervescent,  ir- 
repressible animal  spirits  characterize  everything  he  has  written. 
He  seems  half-tipsy  with  the  gayety  of  his  heart,  and  never 
scruples  to  introduce  grotesque  extravagances  of  character,  lan- 
guage, and  event,  provided  they  are  likely  to  excite  a  laugh. 
Nothing  can  surpass  the  liveliness  and  drollery  of  his  Peter  Simple, 
Jacob  Faithful,  or  Mr.  Midshipman  Easy.  Marryat's  narratives  are 
often  improbable;  but  we  read  on  with  delight,  never  thinking  of 
the  story,  solicitous  only  to  follow  the  adventures  and  laugh  at  the 
characters.  In  many  passages  he  has  shown  a  mastery  over  the  pa- 
thetic emotions.  Though  superficial  in  his  view  of  character,  he  is 
generally  faithful  to  reality,  and  shows  an  extensive  if  not  very 
deep  knowledge  of  what  his  old  waterman  calls  "  human  natur." 
There  are  few  authors  more  amusing  than  Marryat. 

William  Makepeace  Thackeray  (1811-1863)  was  one  of  the 
greatest  among  modern  novelists.  He  was  born  in  Calcutta,  the 
son  of  an  English  official.  In  his  very  early  years  he  was  sent  away 
from  his  Eastern  home  to  receive  his  education  in  England.  After  a 
careful  training  he  was  admitted  to  the  University  of  Cambridge. 
He  did  not  remain  there  long;  for  the  death  of  his  father  had  left 
him  wealth,  and  freedom  to  direct  his  own  course  of  study.  His 
desire  was  to  become  an  artist.  He  left  the  University  without  his 
degree,  and  spent  four  or  five  years  in  France,  Italy,  and  Germany. 


378      WILLIAM     MAKEPEACE     THACKERAY. 

His  study  of  the  masterpieces  of  the  great  painters  made  him  dis- 
trust his  own  abilities.  But  his  life  abroad  gave  him  stores  of 
knowledge  valuable  for  his  later  literary  work.  On  returning  to 
London  he  continued  his  art  studies ;  but  the  loss  of  his  fortune 
compelled  him  to  throw  himself  with  all  his  powers  into  the  field 
of  literature.  He  was  first  known  by  his  articles  in  Fraser's  Maga- 
zine, contributed  under  the  names  of  Michael  Angelo  Titmarsh  and 
George  Fitzboodle,  Esq.  Tales,  criticism,  and  poetry  appeared  in 
great  profusion,  and  were  illustrated  by  the  author's  own  pencil. 
The  chief  of  his  contributions  to  the  magazine  was  the  tale  of 
Barry  Lyndon,  The  Adventures  of  an  Irish  Fortune-hunter.  This 
was  full  of  humor  and  incident,  but  the  reading  public  was  not  yet 
expecting  a  great  future  for  this  unknown  writer.  In  1841  Punch 
was  commenced,  to  which  Thackeray  contributed  the  Snob  Papers, 
JeameJs  Diary,  and  many  other  papers  in  prose  and  verse.  In  1846 
and  the  two  following  years  Vanity  Fair  appeared,  by  many  sup- 
posed to  be  the  best  of  his  works — certainly  the  most  original. 

The  novel  was  not  complete  before  its  author  took  his  place 
1846J   among  the  great  writers  of  English  fiction.     The  writer  of 

satirical  sketches  aud  mirthful  poems  had  shown  himself  to 
be  a  consummate  satirist,  and  a  great  novelist. 

Vanity  Fair,  the  first  of  Thackeray's  famous  works,  is  called  "  A 
Novel  without  a  Hero."  It  has,  however,  two  heroines — Rebecca 
Shaip,  the  impersonation  of  intellect  without  heart,  and  Amelia 
Sedley,  who  has  heart  without  intellect ;  the  former  is  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  creations  of  modern  fiction.  As  a  whole  the  book  is 
full  of  quiet  sarcasm  and  rebuke;  but  a  careful  reading  will  per- 
ceive the  kindly  heart  that  is  beating  under  the  bitterest  sentence 
and  the  most  caustic  irony. 

Pendennu,  published  in  1849  and  1850,  was  the  immediate  suc- 
cessor of  Vanity  Fair.  Literary  life  presents  scope  for  description, 
and  is  well  used  in  the  history  of  Pen,  a  hero  of  no  very  great 
worth.  As  Vanity  Fair  gives  us  Thackeray's  knowledge  of  life  in 
the  present  day,  so  Exrnond  exhibits  his  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  society  of  the  reigns  of  t lie  later  Stuarts  and  the  earlier  (Jeor. 
Like  Vanity  Fair,  it  is  without  plot,  and  gives  in  an  autobio- 
graphical form  the  history  of  Colonel  Henry  Esmond.  The 
styl©  of  a  century  and  a  half  ago  is  reproduced  with  marvelous 
fidelity. 


CHARLES     DICKENS.  37? 

The  Virginians  is  the  history  of  the  grandsons  of  Esmond.  It 
consists  of  a  series  of  well -described  scenes  and  incidents  in  the 
reign  of  George  III.  The  most  popular  of  Thackeray's  novels  is 
Tlie  Newcomer.  "  The  leading  theme  or  moral  of  the  story  is  the 
misery  occasioned  by  forced  or  ill-assorted  marriages."  The  noble 
courtesy,  the  Christian  gentlemanliness  of  Colonel  Newcome  is  per- 
haps a  reflection  of  the  author  himself.  Ethel  Newcome  is  Thacke- 
ray's favorite  womanly  character.  The  minor  personages  are  most 
life-like,  while  throughout  the  whole  there  is  a  clear  exhibition  of 
the  real  kindliness  of  Thackeray's  heart. 

His  two  courses  of  lectures  On  the  English  Humorists  and  The 
Four  Georges,  are  models  of  style  and  criticism. 

Charles  Dickens  (1812-1870)  was  the  most  popular  novelist  of 
his  day.  The  two  men,  Dickens  and  Thackeray,  stood  side  by 
side,  each  industrious,  each  effective  in  his  work,  each  appreciating 
and  applauding  the  other.  Dickens's  father  intended  that  he 
should  follow  the  profession  of  the  law  ;  but  it  was  distasteful  to 
him,  and  he  abandoned  it  for  the  busy  life  of  a  reporter  to  one  of 
the  London  newspapers.  This  work  gave  him  opportunities  for 
observing  the  characters  and  habits  of  the  poorer  classes.  His 
mind  was  quick  to  notice  eccentricities  of  human  nature.  He 
could  not  refrain  from  the  delineation  of  what  he  saw  in  men  and 
women,  and  so  he  was  soon  furnishing  "  Sketches  of  Life  and 
Character  "  to  the  columns  of  his  journal.  These  papers  were  after- 
wards published  as  Sketches  oy  Boz.  The  volume  had  a  ready  sale 
Its  author  was  called  upon  to  write  a  book  representing  the  adven- 
tures of  a  company  of  Cockney  sportsmen,  which  Mr.  Seymour, 
a  comic  artist  of  the  day,  was  to  furnish  with  illustrations.  The 
volume  was  published  in  monthly  parts  ;  and  the  first  number  ap- 
peared in  1836,  bearing  the  title  of  The  Posthumous  Papers 
1836]  of  the  Pickwick  Club.  It  was  hailed  with  delight.  The 
author's  fame  began,  and  he  was  regarded  by  all  classes  of 
readers  as  a  writer  of  the  most  radiant  humor.  Everybody  was 
merry  over  Mr.  Pickwick  and  Sam  Weller,  and  everybody  was 
eager  to  read  this  entertaining  author.  Volume  after  volume  came 
from  his  pen.  There  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  his  power  of  carica- 
ture, no  weariness  to  him  in  observing  the  drolleries  of  life,  no 
blunting  to  his  sense   of  fun.     After  writing  Nicholas  Nickleby% 


380  CHARLES     DICKENS. 

Oliver  Twist,  The  Old  Curiosity  Shop,  and  Barnaby  Rudge,  he  made 
his  first  visit  to  America.  His  fame  here  was  as  great  as  in  Eng* 
land,  and  lie  was  received  with  hearty  welcome.  The  visit  fur- 
nished him  with  material  for  two  new  works,  American  Notes  for 
General  Circulation  and  Martin  Chuzdewit.  The  keen  satirist  had 
witnessed  some  of  our  national  follies,  and  he  was  most  severe  in 
his  exposure  of  them.  Americans  then  thought,  and  still  think, 
that  he  exaggerated  our  faults.  It  was  natural  for  him  to  do  that. 
All  of  his  creations  are  exaggerations.  The  dominant  faculty  of 
his  mind  is  his  observation  of  peculiarities,  and  in  painting  them 
he  distorts  and  misrepresents  the  unpeculiar  qualities  of  a  character. 
After  his  visit  to  America  he  spent  a  year  in  Italy,  and  then,  return- 
ing to  London,  he  entered  upon  the  busiest  years  of  his  active  life. 
He  established  and  edited  The  Daily  News ;  but  finding  the  work 
uncongenial,  he  began  again  the  writing  of  fiction.  Dombey  and 
Son,  David  Copjierjield,  and  Bleak  House  appeared,  to  delight  his 
rapturous  readers.  In  1850  Dickens  took  charge  of  a  weekly 
paper,  called  Household  Words,  and  gained  for  it  a  large  circula- 
tion. Afterwards  he  started  his  own  All  the  Tear  Round,  and  con- 
tributed to  it,  in  instalments,  his  later  novels.  Among  the  most 
charming  of  Dickens's  works  are  his  Chrixtmas  Stories.  One  came 
from  his  pen  each  year  after  1843.  The  children  and  the  old  folk 
will  probably  read  A  Chridmas  Carol,  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth, 
and  The  Chimes  long  after  his  more  elaborate  stories  have  been 
forgotten.  Dickens's  vigorous  constitution  broke  down  from  des- 
perate overwork,  and  he  died  suddenly  in  1870 

"  No  one  thinks  first  of  Mr.  Dickens  as  a  writer.  He  is  at  once, 
through  his  books,  a  friend.  He  belongs  among  the  intimates  of 
every  pleasant-tempered  and  large-hearted  person.  He  is  not  so 
much  the  guest  as  the  inmate  of  our  homes.  He  keeps  holidays 
with  us,  he  helps  us  to  celebrate  Christmas  with  heartier  cheer,  lie 
shares  at  every  New  Year  in  our  good  wishes;  for,  indeed,  it  is  not 
in  his  purely  literary  character  that  he  has  done  most  for  us,  it  is 
as  a  man  of  the  largest  humanity,  who  has  simply  used  literature 
as  the  means  by  which  to  bring  himself  into  relation  with  hfc 
fellow-men,  and  to  inspire  them  with  something  of  his  own  sweet- 
ness, kindness,  charity,  and  good-will.''  * 

*  North  American  Review,  April,  1868. 


BULWER-LYTTON,     DISRAELI.  381 

Sir  Edward  George  Bulwer-Lytton  (1805-1873)  was  the  son 
of  General  Bulwer.  In  1844,  upon  inheriting  his  mother's  estates, 
he  was  granted  the  privilege  of  adding  her  family  name,  Lytton,  to 
his  surname.  In  boyhood  he  made  his  first  contribution  to  the 
shelves  of  the  English  libraries,  and  throughout  his  youth  and 
manhood  he  was  an  unceasing  writer.  A  few  poems,  a  few  dramas, 
occasional  political  papers,  and  a  multitude  of  novels,  have  come 
from  his  pen.  His  principal  novels  are  Eugene  Aram,  The  Last 
Days  of  Pomp'i  Rienzi,  My  Novel,  The  Gaxtons,  and  TJie  Parisians. 
"  The  special  aoility  of  Bulwer  appears  to  lie  in  the  delineation  of 
that  passion  with  which  the  novel  is  so  deeply  concerned,  the  pas- 
sion of  love.  All  true  and  manly  passions,  let  it  be  said,  are  honored 
and  illustrated  in  his  pages.  But  he  stands  alone  among  novelists 
of  his  sex  in  the  portraiture  of  love.  The  heroism,  the  perfect 
trust,  the  strength  in  death,  are  painted  by  him  with  a  sympathetic 
truth  for  which  we  know  not  where  to  seek  a  parallel."* 
.  Not  one  of  the  wits  who  have  written  in  this  century  for  the 
theater  deserves  higher  praise  than  Bulwer-Lytton.  His  "  Riche- 
lieu" and  "Lady  of  Lyons"  have  literary  excellence  as  well  as 
adaptation  to  the  stage. 

It  may  reasonably  be  doubted  whether  Benjamin  Disraeli,  Earl 
of  Beaconsfield  (1805-1880),  does  not  owe  his  place  among  men  of 
letters  to  the  fact  that  he  was  Prime  Minister  of  England  and  a  peer 
of  the  realm.  His  many  novels  have,  however,  kept  his  name  con- 
stantly before  the  reading  public.  They  reflect  his  career  in  a 
measure,  for  they  expound  his  political  and  social  theories,  and 
sketch  the  prominent  personages  of  his  time.  All  are  characterized 
by  a  fluent  but  incorrect  style,  by  daring  flights  of  fancy,  and  florid, 
somewhat  bombastic  rhetoric.  Vivian  Grey;  The  Young Diike ;  Tan- 
cred,  or  the  New  Crusade ;  Coningsby,  or  the  New  Generation,  are  the 
best  of  them.  Lothair  and  Endymion,  published  when  their  author, 
as  leader  of  the  English  Conservatives,  was  at  the  height  of  his 
political  fame,  attracted  much  attention  because  of  their  many 
portraitures  of  distinguished  people.  Lord  Beaconsfield  was  an 
industrious  writer.  He  produced  many  political  pamphlets,  a  Life 
of  Lord  George  Bentinck,  several  poems,  and  edited  most  of  the 
works  of  his  father,  Isaac  Disraeli  (1776-1848). 

*  Bayne. 


382  TROLLOP  E,    READE 

Anthony  Trollope  (1815-1883)  may  be  styled  the  great  photog* 
rapher  of  English  society  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Born  of  a 
respectable  but  impoverished  family,  he  experienced  during  his 
boyhood  as  much  neglect  and  hardship  as  fell  to  the  lot  of  Johnson 
or  Dickens.  In  his  early  manhood  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
Post-Office  Department,  where  he  slowly  worked  his  way  upward 
to  an  honorable  position.  At  the  age  of  thirty-two  he  published 
his  first  novel,  and,  not  discouraged  by  its  lack  of  success,  he  con- 
tinued to  write  until  he  won  the  regard  of  a  publi  ,  liich  has  since 
given  kindly  hearing  to  scores  of  his  productions.  His  aim  was  to 
represent  life  as  he  found  it,  without  exaggeration,  without  false  col- 
oring. He  has  neither  great  creati ve  power  nor  deep  poetic  feeling 
but  his  kindly  spirit  and  perfect  purity  of  sentiment  make  his  writ- 
ings invariably  healthy  in  tpne ;  and  he  has  the  remarkable  gift  of  nar- 
rating everyday  occurrences  in  an  entertaining  manner.  His  Auto- 
biography  (1883)  gives  a  frank  account  of  the  struggles  which 
finally  lifted  him  to  wealth  and  literary  distinction,  also  a  chrono- 
logical list  of  his  writings, — essays,  books  of  travel,  and  novels. 
Among  these  last  it  is  hard  to  particularize  because  of  their  general 
excellence  in  their  own  line.  Perhaps  Orley  Farm,  La  Vendee,  Tlie 
Bertrams,  Is  HePopenjoyf  and  the  so-called  ''clerical  series,"  begin- 
ning with  The  Warden  and  closing  with  TJie  Last  Chronicles  of  Barset, 
most  favorably  represent  his  powers. 

Charles  Keade  (1814-1884),  like  Trollope,  represents  the  realis- 
tic school  of  fiction.  Born  in  Oxfordshire,  he  was  graduated  at  the 
neighboring  university,  and  held  one  of  its  fellowships  throughout 
his  life.  He  was  educated  for  the  law;  but  his  thoughts  tamed 
towards  literature,  and  in  1850,  when  his  story  of  Peg  Wojfington 
appeared,  he  was  recognized  as  a  novelist  of  power.  Christie  John- 
stone was  received  with  yet  heartier  applause.  Among  his  famous 
stories  are  The  Cloister  and  the  Hearth  ;  Very  I  hud  Cash  ;  Griffith 
Oaunt,  or  Jealousy  ;  Put  Yourself  M  Bit  Place;  Never  Too  Late  to 
Mend;  and  A  Terrible  Temptation.  These  novels,  written  in  a  style 
ragged  and  often  crude,  are  full  of  energy,  and  are  marked  by 
strong  moral  purpose.  They  attack  abuses  in  the  English  prison 
system,  or  the  mismanagement  of  hospitals,  or  the  tyranny  of  trades 
unions.  Abounding  in  striking  incidents  and  in  dramatic  fire, 
they  have  been  found  easily  adaptable  to  the  uses  of  the  stage 


GEORGE    ELIOT.  383 

Reade  wrote  a  few  dramas,  and  believed  them  to  be  the  best  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen. 

Mary  Ann  Evans  (George  Eliot).  The  biography  of  George 
Eliot  (1819-1880),  the  most  admired  of  modern  English  novelists, 
has  been,  until  very  recently,  clouded  with  as  much  uncertainty 
as  surrounds  the  great  dramatist  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  high- 
est praise  she  has  received  compares  her  genius  with  Shakespeare's ; 
like  his,  it  won  recognition  independently  of  social  position  and  per- 
sonal influence.  Like  Shakespeare,  again,  she  was  a  native  of  War- 
wickshire, and  sprung  from  the  rugged,  strong-brained,  upward- 
pushing  English  middle  class.  The  youngest  of  five  children,  diffi- 
dence and  self-consciousness  held  her  somewhat  apart  from  youthful 
companions ;  but  her  childhood  seems  to  have  been  rather  serene  than 
otherwise,  and  as  she  grew  into  womanhood,  unusual  love  and  ven- 
eration marked  her  relations  to  her  widowed  father,  the  prototype 
of  her  Adam  Bede.  She  was  carefully  educated  in  schools  of  local 
repute,  and  received  especial  training  in  Latin,  French,  and  English 
composition.  In  1841,  when  her  father  removed  to  Foleshill,  near 
Coventry,  Mary  Ann  was  already  a  student  of  books,  of  nature,  and 
of  men.  She  continued  her  study  of  music  and  modern  languages, 
learned  Greek  "  in  order  to  read  ^Eschylus,"  and  even  taught  herself 
something  of  Hebrew.  Through  converse  with  cultured  friends  she 
was  drawn  towards  metaphysics  and  history,  and  began  to  investigate 
their  bearing  upon  religion.  By  nature  she  was  earnest  and  devout ; 
however,  her  speculative  tendencies  soon  put  her  into  a  critical 
attitude  towards  her  inherited  Calvinism.  Her  doubt  and  question 
eventually  grew  into  agnosticism ;  but  her  reverence  for  sincere 
belief  of  all  shades  is  evinced  in  many  of  her  noblest  creations. 
Her  first  literary  essay  was  a  spirited  and  scholarly  translation  of 
Strauss's  Life  of  Jesus  (1846)  ;  it  won  her  the  applause  of  many  dis- 
tinguished thinkers,  and  though  an  equally  able  translation  of 
Feuerbach's  Essence  of  Christianity  (1854),  aroused  less  general  in- 
terest, it  confirmed  the  first  estimate  of  her  ability.  At  thirty-two 
years  of  age,  when  her  talents  had  long  ripened  in  "  the  still  air 
of  delightful  studies,"  and  she  had  attained  an  almost  Miltonic 
range  of  knowledge,  came  the  turning-point  in  her  career.  The 
death  of  her  father  (1849)  had  broken  her  local  attachments  and 
deeply  unsettled  her  spirit,  and  in  1851  she  gladly  accepted  an 


384  GEORGE    ELIOT. 

invitation  to  go  up  to  London  and  become  the  assistant  editor  of 
the  Westminster  Review.  Through  its  pages  she  gave  to  the  world 
a  long  and  brilliant  series  of  essays  on  topics  critical,  literary,  bio- 
graphical, artistic,  and  ethical.  Her  labors  were  brightened  by  in 
tercourse  with  choice  friends,  among  whom  were  James  and  Harriet 
Martineau,  Herbert  Spencer,  and  George  Henry  Lewes.  It  was  in 
1854  that  she  entered  upon  her  life-long  union  with  Mr.  Lewes, 
influenced  by  the  recognition  of  mutual  helpfulness,  and  by  a  con- 
scientious dissent  from  certain  stipulations  of  the  English  law  of 
marriage.*  The  abstract  morality  of  the  step,  and  its  ultimate  influ- 
ence upon  her  happiness,  are  still  matters  of  fierce  dispute.  It 
certainly  marked  the  great  crisis  of  her  life.  Many  of  her  friends 
were  shocked  and  alienated ;  she  was  thrown  back  more  than  ever 
before  upon  her  own  moral  resources.  On  the  other  hand,  her  hus- 
band's vivacious,  appreciative  criticism  was  of  infinite  service  to  her 
intellectual  life.  He  first  discerned  in  her  the  novelist's  powers,  and 
at  his  instance  her  Scenes  of  Clerical  Life  were  published  in  Black- 
wood's Magazine  (1857)  over  her  since  famous  pseudonym.  They 
set  the  reading  world  on  fire  with  admiration  and  curiosity ;  and 
when  Adam  Bede  appeared,  in  1859,  the  note  of  enthusiasm  became 
so  strong  as  to  beget  spurious  claims  to  its  authorship.  Mrs.  Lewes 
now  revealed  her  identity  to  Mr.  Blackwood,  and  the  next  year  her 
mask  was  entirely  thrown  aside.  The  Mill  on  the  Floss  (1860),  fol- 
lowed by  Silas  Marner,  the  Weaver  of  Raveloe  (1861),  firmly  estab- 
lished her  popularity.  Her  girlhood's  associates  had  been  aston- 
ished by  her  exquisite  portrayal  of  familiar  provincial  scenes  and 
personages;  her  next  work,  Romola  (1862-1863),  embodied  equally 
conscientious  studies  of  Florentine  life  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
Critics  have  differed  widely  concerning  its  artistic  perfection,  but  uni- 
versal consent  ranks  it  high  as  an  historical  study — a  grand  narrative. 
Appreciative  publishers  and  eager  readers  now  welcomed  ever? 
effort  of  Mrs.  Lewes's  toilsome  but  productive  pen.  Felix 
Holt,  the  Radical,  (1866),  the  dramatic  poem  entitled  Tfie  SjHinish 
Gypsy  (1868),  Middlemarch  (1871),  The  Legend  of  Jubal  and  other 
Poems  (1874),  Daniel  Deronda  (1876),  though  varying  in  their  com- 
mand of  popular  sympathy,  all  gave  evidence  of  profound  observa- 
tion, of  deep  poetic  and  philosophic  insight,  of  a  truly  Shakes- 

*  Mr.  Lewes,  although  separated  from   his  first  wife  upon  ju«t  and  sufficient 
grounds,  could  not,  according  to  English  law,  be  divorced  from  her. 


GEORGE    ELIOT.  385 

pearian  range  of  creative  power.  Mrs.  Lewes's  literary  fame  had 
long  since  lifted  her  above  social  proscription,  but  the  last  years  of 
her  life  were  destined  to  be  the  most  checkered.  In  1878,  the 
death  of  Mr.  Lewes  drew  all  hearts  toward  her  in  sympathy,  which 
changed  to  amazement  when,  scarcely  two  years  later,  she  married 
John  Walter  Cross,  a  London  banker  many  years  her  junior.  Half 
a  year  more,  and  sudden  illness  had  closed  her  life,  and  filled  the 
English-speaking  world  with  a  sense  of  bereavement. 

George  Eliot's  latest  publication  was  Theophrastus  Such  (1879),  a 
volume  of  essays  prepared  before  Mr.  Lewes's  death.  The  common 
verdict  found  it  perceptibly  lacking  in  freshness  and  vigor.  Un- 
doubtedly its  author's  enduring  fame  will  rest  upon  her  novels.  They 
have  made  and  marked  an  epoch  in  the  development  of  English 
thought ;  no  others  have  been  so  much  discussed  by  eminent  critics. 
More  symmetrical  and  finished  than  any  other  English  fiction,  they 
are  also  superior  in  dramatic  force,  in  variety  of  types,  in  subtle, 
life-like  blending  of  pathos  and  humor.  In  them,  as  in  the  Eliza- 
bethan drama,  development  of  character,  not  intricacy  of  plot, 
is  the  motive.  But  the  author  shared  the  limitations  of  her  age. 
Her  noblest  efforts  bear  the  marks  of  a  sometimes  too-labored  syn- 
thesis. Her  admirers  often  miss  in  her  the  naivete,  the  fresh  spon- 
taneity of  a  Fielding  or  a  Scott.  For  this  reason,  also,  George 
Eliot's  poetry,  though  lofty  in  sentiment  and  perfect  in  structure, 
takes  rank  below  her  prose.  And  her  agnosticism,  while  it  is 
tempered  with  sweet  humanity  and  unselfish  courage,  is  the  mourn- 
ful exponent  of  a  world  which  has  unlearned  its  simple  faith. 


Ill  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

The  Modem  Novelists, 
1,  Horace  Walpole  ;  2.  Ann  Radcliffe  ;  3,  Matthew 
Gregory  Lewis  ;  4.  31rs.  Shelley ;  5.  Frances 
JBumey ;  6*.  William  Godwin;  7.  Maria 
Fdgeworth ;  8,  Jane  Austen ;  9,  Charlotte 
Bronte;  10,  Mary  Russell  Mitford ;  11. 
Frederick  Marry  at ;  12.  William  Make- 
peace  Thackeray ;  13.  Charles  Dickens ; 
14,  Sir  Fdward  George  Bulwer-Lytton  ;  15, 
Benjamin  Disraeli;  16,  Anthony  Trollope  ; 
17.  Charles  Reade ;  18,  George  Eliot, 


WALTER   SCOTT. 

Byron,  Moore,  Shelley,  Keats,  Campbell,  Hunt,  Landor,  and  Hooc: 
Mrs.  Browning. 


THE   LAKE   SCHOOL. 


William  Wordsworth, 
S.  T.  Coleridge, 
Robert  Southey. 


uj   ••* 

z.J 


THE   HISTORIANS. 


THE   PHILOSOPHERS. 


THE  CLERGY. 


THE  SCIENTISTS. 


Connop  Thirlwall, 

George  Grote. 

Thomas  Babington  Macatjlay, 

Henry  Hallam, 

Henry  Hart  Mdlman, 

Henry  Thomas  Buckle. 


Thomas  Reid, 
Dugald  Stewart, 
Thomas  Broavn, 
Sir  William  Hamilton, 
James  Mill, 
Jeremy  Bentbam, 
John  Stuart  Mill, 
George  Henry  Lewes. 


Richard  Whately, 
John  Keble, 
Thomas  Arnold, 
F.  W.  Robertson, 
J.  F.  D.  Maurice, 
Charles  Kingpley. 


William  Whewell, 
Sir  John  Herschel, 
MicnAEL  Faraday, 
Hugh  Miller. 


THE    ESSAYISTS. 


Francis  Jeffrey, 
Sydney  Smith, 
John  Gibson  Lockhart 
John  Wilson, 
William  Hazlitt, 
Charles  Lamb, 
Thomas  DeQuincey, 
Thomas  Carlyle. 


THE   MODERN    NOVELISTS. 


Horace  Walpolb, 
Ann  Radcliffe, 
Matthew  Gregory  Lewis, 
Mrs.  Shelley, 

-    BUBJilX, 

William  Godwin, 

Maria  Epgkworth, 

Jane  Au-tkn 

Charlotte  Bronte. 

M  un    Rtreaw  i  kfixroBD, 

Frederick   Marry  at, 

William   Makxpsaoi  Thackkray, 

Chablu   Dii  : 

sik  i:i>u  lrd  Gbobgi  BulwerLyttor 

Benjamin   Di-raeli. 

Anthony  Trollope, 

Charles  Reads, 

George  Eliot. 


A   LIST   OF  THE    POETS   LAUREATE. 


Edmund  Spenser 1591—1599 

Samuel  Daniel 1599—1619 

Ben  jotcon 1619—1637 

(Interregnum) 

William  Davenant,  Knight          ....  1660—1668 

*John  Dryden 1670—1689 

Thomas  Shadwell 1689—1692 

Nahum  Tate 1692—1715 

Nicholas  Kowe 1715—1718 

t  Lawrence  Eusden 1718—1730 

Collet  Cibber      .         .         .        .        .        .        .  1730—1757 

William  Whitehead 1757—1785 

Thomas  Warton 1785—1790 

\  Henry  James  Pye 1790—1813 

Robert  Southey 1813—1843 

William  Wordsworth 1843 — 1850 

Alfred  Tennyson 1850 — 

*  Though  Dryden  did  not  receive  his  letters-patent  until  the  year  1670,  he  never- 
theless was  paid  the  salary  for  the  two  preceding  years. 

t  For  Eusden  see  "Dunciad,"  Book  I.,  line  63;  and  for  Colley  Cibber,  see  same 
work  passim. 

%  "Better  to  err  with  Pope  than  shine  with  Pye,"  says  Lord  Byron,  in  his 
1  Hints  from  Horace.'  And  again  in  the  '  Vision  of  Judgment,'  the  same  poet  repre- 
sents the  ghost  of  King  George  as  exclaiming,  on  hearing  Southey's  recitation  of 
his  '  Vision  '— 

"What,  what! 
Pye  come  again  ?  no  more— no  more  of  that  1 " 

It  is  by  these  notices  alone  that  poor  Pye  stills  hangs  on  the  human  memory. 


388 


THE    RULERS    OF    ENGLAND 


THE   SAXON    LINE. 


f  Egbert,  (King  of  the  West  Saxons,  com- 
monly called  the  ftrst  king  of  England), 
A.  i>.  827—836. 

Ethelwolf,  836—857. 

Ethelred,  857—871. 

Alfred  the  Great,  871—901. 

Edward,  901-925. 

Atiielstan.  925—941. 

Edmund,  941—948. 

Edred,  948-955. 

Edwy,  955—959. 

Edgar  the  Peaceable,  959—975. 

Edward  II.,  975-979. 

Ethelred  the  Unready,  979— 10Jo- 

Edmund  Ironsides,  1016—1017. 


THE   DANISH    LINE. 


(  Canute  the  Great,  1017- 

•<  Harold,  1035— 103«.». 

/  Hardicanute,  1029—1041. 


1035. 


THE  SAXON  LINE  RESTORED.  J  Edward  the  Confessor,  1041-1066 

\  Harold,  1066. 


THE   NORMAN    LINE. 


THE   PLANTAGENETS. 


THE  TUDORS. 


THE  STUARTS. 


f  William  the  Conqueror,  1066—1087. 
I  William  II.  (BfcfUB),  1087-1100. 
1  Henry  I.,  1100—1135. 
(.Stephen  of  Blois,  1135—1154. 

Henry  II,  1154-1189. 
Richard  I.,  1189—1199. 
John,  119!)— 1216. 
Henry  III.,  1216—1272. 
Edward  1.,  1272-1307. 
Edward  II.,  1307-1327. 
Edward  III.,  1327—1377. 
Richard  II..  1377—1399. 
Henry  IV.,  13M-1413. 
Henry  V.,  1413—1422. 
Henry  VI.,  1422-1461. 
Edward  IV.,  1461-1483. 
Edward  V.,  1483. 
Richard  HI.,  1483-1485. 

!  Henry  VII.,  1485-1509. 
Henry  VIII.,  1509-1547. 
Edward  VI.,  1547-1558. 
Mary,  1553—1568. 
Ki.izabeth,  1558—1603. 

j  James  I.,  1603-1625. 
1  Charles  I.,  1625-1649. 


The  Commonwealth,  1649—1680. 

THE   STUARTS   AFTER    THE    I  Charles  H.  1660-1685. 
RESTORATION.  1  «^mes  II.,  1685-1688. 

William  HI.,  1688-1702. 
and  Mary,  (died  1694). 


THE  HOUSE  OF  NASSAU. 
THE  LAST  OF  THE  STUARTS 


Anne,  1702—1714. 


f  George  I.,  1714—1727. 
George  II.,  1727-1760. 

ithe  house  of  brunswick.    g£™J  l&SfcJB 

j  \\  u ham  1\  ..  HJ0— 1887. 
[Victoria,  1887-  |<J  fc  I 


t^fartM 


ENGLISH    LITERATURE   IN   AMERICA, 


INTRODUCTORY. 


DURING  half  a  century  after  the  people  of  the  United 
States  had  gained  their  political  independence  from 
Great  Britain  they  had  to  bear  tauntings  for  their  lack  of 
originality  and  for  their  unproductiveness  in  literature.  The 
reproaches  cast  upon  them  were  plausible  (at  first  thought, 
seem  to  have  been  just/,  inasmuch  as  the  Americans  had 
not  poets,  or  historians,  or  novelists  to  be  compared  with 
the  writers  of  the  mothermeountry.  There  was  not  an 
American  author  living  whose  fame  had  passed  beyond  his 
own  country.  Still,  national  resentment  may  have  had  its 
influence  in  prompting  the  English  critics  to  cast  ridicule 
and  reproach  upon  us  ;  for  a  friendly  disposition  would  have 
found  excuse  for  our  shortcomings  in  the  peculiar  history 
of  our  people.  That  history  is  naturally  divided  into  three 
periods — viz.,  the  colonial,  the  revolutionary,  and  the  na- 
tional. 

Throughout  the  colonial  period  our  people  were  in  a  con- 
dition most  unfavorable  to  the  production  of  literature. 
They  had  no  cities.  They  lived  in  villages  scattered  along 
a  thousand  miles  of  sea-coast.  They  were  beset  by  savages  ; 
were  ravaged  by  pestilence  ;  were  pinched  by  poverty.  They 
were  hindered  in  their  national  growth  by  their  own  sec- 
tional jealousies,  and  were  far  removed  from  the  helping 
influences  of  European  civilization.  They  had  no  special 
impulses  to  literary  work,  nor  was  there  any  need  for  them 


390  INTRODUCTORY. 

to  write  books,  since  books  were  supplied  in  abundance  iu 
their  own  language.* 

The  revolutionary  period  of  our  history,  beginning  with 
the  war  and  lasting  until  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
in  1787,  was  equally  unfavorable  to  authorship.  At  the 
outset  there  were  the  seven  years  of  warfare,  in  which  the 
national  life  was  taxed  to  the  utmost.  The  army  absorbed 
the  national  forces.  No  man  was  spared  for  the  pursuit  of 
literature.  When  the  war  was  over,  the  land  was  stripped 
and  desolate,  and  poverty  swayed  the  sceptre,  compelling 
her  people  to  toil  for  their  daily  bread.  Literature  does  not 
thrive  where  there  is  no  leisure  class,  nor  where  the  people 
have  not  quiet  confidence  in  the  security  of  their  govern- 
ment. Both  of  these  essentials  to  literary  prosperity  were 
wanting  throughout  the  revolutionary  period  of  our  history. 

When  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  came  to  mark 
the  beginning  of  national  prosperity,  the  same  unfavorable 
conditions  existed  which  had  ^een  in  the  way  of  literary 
achievement  during  the  colonial  period.  The  people  were 
poor;  they  had  no  credit  abroad  ;  they  had  no  real  money. 
Exchange  was  mere  barter,  such  as  we  expect  to  find 
only  in  rude  civilization.  And  when  the  people  began  to 
emerge  from  their  poverty,  they  came  upon  an  epoch  of 
astonishing  activity  in  material  industries.  Agriculture 
had  rich  rewards  for  all  who  would  come  to  her  service  ; 
manufacture  was  even  more  alluring ;  highways  were  to  be 
built,  rivers  to  be  bridged ;  the  laborer  commanded  such 
wages  as  were  offered  in  no  other  market  of  the  world, 
and  the  educated  man  was  driven  by  the  public  necessity 
into  the  professions  of  the  engineer,  of  the  architect,  of 
the  lawyer,  of  the  politician.     Moreover,  the  nation  has 


*  "  Literature,  the  Americans  have  none  ;  no  native  literature  we  mean.  *  *  * 
But  why  should  the  Americana  write  books  when  a  six  matt*  (MMMge  Magi  th.ui 
in  their  own  tongue,  our  souse,  science,  and  genius  in  bales  and  hogsheads  T"— 
Edinburgh  Review,  Vol.  XXXI.,  p.  144. 


INTRODUCTORY.  391 

absorbed  immigration  from  all  countries  of  Europe,  until 
it  has  grown  from  a  population  of  about  3,000,000  at  the 
beginning  of  the  century  to  more  than  50,000,000.  The 
center  of  population  in  1800  was  in  Carroll  County,  Md., 
and  it  has  been  crowded  westward,  until  to-day  it  is  in  west- 
ern Indiana.  It  would  seem  that  amid  these  bewildering 
forces  there  could  not  be  the  leisure  and  quietude  essen- 
tial to  the  production  of  literature.  Keflecting  upon  the 
stupendous  results  achieved  in  the  material  affairs  of  our 
country  it  would  seem  that  all  men  must  have  been  busied 
in  building  our  cities,  or  that  all  must  have  been  at  work 
in  bridging  our  rivers  and  in  making  the  highways  of  com- 
merce, or  that  all  men  must  have  been  helping  on  the  con- 
quests of  agriculture.  It  seems  unreasonable  to  look  for  a 
display  of  literary  effort  and  success.  Not  the  colonial 
period,  nor  the  revolutionary,  nor  the  national  period  has 
been  favorable  to  the  production  of  literature.  And  yet 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  best  writers  of  England  and  of 
America  have  been  working  side  by  side,  with  equal  indus- 
try and  with  equal  skill,  making  vast  additions  to  the  noble 
literature  of  their  common  language.  Sydney  Smith's 
question,  "Who  reads  an  American  book?"  is  not  re- 
peated, and  the  criticism  of  the  English  reviewer  upon  the 
sterility  of  our  national  literature  is  silenced.  That  criti- 
cism, though  ungenerous,  was  helpful,  inasmuch  as  it  added 
the  incentive  of  patriotism  to  the  personal  ambition  of 
American  authors. 

While  the  attacks  made  upon  us  were  ungenerous,  they 
were  unjust  as  well ;  for,  despite  the  most  unfavorable  con- 
ditions, there  were  writers  even  in  the  colonial  and  the 
revolutionary  periods  of  our  history  who  made  noble  and 
enduring  contributions  to  English  literature. 


CHAPTEB  f. 

THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

NO  period  could  have  been  more  favorable  to  the  trans- 
planting of  healthful  English  life  than  the  years 
between  1607  and  1682.  During  that  period  the  twelve 
principal  American  colonies  were  founded.  At  its  begin- 
ning, Bacon,  the  greatest  of  English  thinkers,  and  Shake- 
speare, the  greatest  of  English  authors,  were  yet  living  and 
were  calling  into  activity  the  forces  of  the  national  thought ; 
as  the  period  advanced,  political  turmoil  made  it  easier  for 
Englishmen  to  break  the  ties  which  bound  them  to  their 
native  land.  And  so  it  was  possible  to  find  great  numbers 
of  men,  eager  in  spirit,  intellectual,  representatives  of 
learned  professions,  graduates  of  the  universities,  who  were 
ready  to  become  colonists  in  the  early  settlements  of 
America. 

The  settlers  in  Virginia  and  in  Maryland  were  chiefly 
adventurers  intent  upon  making  fortunes,  but  they  brought 
with  them  traditions  of  "  the  spacious  times  of  great  Eliza- 
beth " ;  and,  though  they  did  not  plan  for  permanent  resi- 
dence in  this  country,  they  introduced  a  generous  way  of 
living  which  in  later  times  enriched  the  national  life,  and 
went  far  towards  correcting  the  somewhat  grim  and  ascetic 
thought  of  New  England. 

On  the  other  hand  the  exiles  of  Plymouth,  Salem,  and 
Massachusetts  Bay  had  come  to  these  shores  to  find  a  home. 
Among  them  there  were  men  of  the  Miltonic  type — states- 
men and  preachers  in  whom  pure  morality,  religious  conse- 
cration, mental  toughness  and  activity  abounded. 


THE     COLONIAL    PERIOD.  393 

The  colonists  were  Englishmen,  who  had  love  for  English 
literature,  but  they  were  so  much  absorbed  in  maintaining 
existence  that  they  were  unable  to  keep  themselves  under 
such  literary  influences  as  were  at  work  in  Old  England. 
Still,  those  influences  were  felt  among  the  colonists.  They 
produced  writers  answering  to  almost  every  variety  of  con- 
temporaneous English  authorship.  The  wit  of  Donne,  the 
dignity  of  Hooker,  the  fancy  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  and  later, 
the  trained  sense  of  Dryden  and  Pope — all  have  their  coun- 
terparts within  the  neglected  volumes  of  our  colonial 
authors. 

The  first  writings  in  the  New  World  took  the  form  of 
messages  sent  to  England.  They  gave  tidings  to  the  friends 
in  the  Old  Country,  called  for  recruits  from  the  adventurous, 
and  contributed  not  a  little  to  feed  the  imagination  of 
English  authors  and  readers.  Allusions,  and  sometimes 
whole  passages  in  the  Elizabethan  writers — in  Bacon,  Ea- 
leigh,  and  Shakespeare — prove  the  interest  which  they  felt 
in  the  writers  of  the  New  World.* 

The  Virginians,  pursuing  gain  and  adventure,  naturally 
took  the  lead  in  colonial  literature.  Their  heroic  John 
Smith  wielded  his  pen  in  behalf  of  the  colony  with  as  much 
vigor  and  invention  as  he  displayed  in  managing  the  dis- 
heartened and  mutinous  settlers  at  Jamestown.  His  alert, 
intrepid  and  sanguine  spirit  shines  all  through  the  pages  of 
his  first  book,  A  True  Relation  of  Virginia.  "We  doubt 
not,"  he  writes,  "but  by  God's  gracious  assistance,  and  the 
adventurous  willing  minds  and  speedy  furtherance  to  so 
honorable  an  action  in  after  times,  to  see  our  nation  enjoy  a 
country,  not  only  exceedingly  pleasant  for  habitation,  but 
also  very  profitable  for  commerce  in  general,  no  doubt  pleas- 
ing to  Almighty  God,  honorable  to  our  gracious  sovereign, 
and   commodious  generally  to  the  whole  kingdom."     An 

*  Spenser  dedicated  his  Faerie  Queene,  the  first  great  poem  of  modern  English 
literature,  to  "Elizabeth  the  Queene  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  and  Virginia" 


394  THOMAS    HOOKER. 

uncultured  soldier,  who  handles  his  pen  with  the  rough  and 
ready  boldness  which  his  sword  has  learned  in  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  his  stormy  career,  he  has  the  .fire,  the  directness, 
the  sustained  thought  and  the  rich  vocabulary  of  the  best 
prose  of  the  Elizabethan  age. 

Nor  were  the  muses  neglected  in  the  early  colony  of  Vir- 
ginia. George  Sandys,  a  man  whom  Dryden  has  praised  as 
the  best  versifier  of  his  age,  while  a  resident  upon  the  banks 
of  the  James  River,  made  a  pleasing  translation  of  Ovid's 
Metamorphoses,  which  was  printed  in  London  in  1621. 

Until  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  literary  ex- 
pression on  this  continent  was  mainly  confined  to  Virginia 
and  New  England.  The  other  colonies  were  so  young,  or 
so  feeble,  or  so  much  engaged  in  the  struggle  for  existence, 
that  only  here  and  there  an  individual  found  disposition  to 
perpetuate  his  thought  in  print. 

In  New  England,  schools  and  colleges  were  established  in 
the  early  days  of  the  colonies,  intellectual  life  was  highly 
cultivated  within  narrow  lines,  and  writings  abounded.  The 
governors  of  colonies — Winthrop  of  Massachusetts  Bay  (10), 
and  Bradford  of  Plymouth — made  valuable  contributions  to 
our  literature.  The  clergymen  of  the  day  were  eminent 
for" their  learning,  and  frequently  published  sermons,  and 
discussions  relative  to  the  common  weal.  The  people  were 
devout  and  fond  of  disputation,  and  were  not  disposed  to 
look  with  favor  upon  other  than  serious  and  controversial 
writings.  The  first  book  printed  in  America,  The  Hay 
Psalm  Book,  came  from  the  press  at  Harvard  College  in 
1640,  and  is  itself  a  specimen  of  the  literature  for  which  the 
popular  demand  was  strongest. 

Thomas  Hooker  (1586-1647),  known  in  his  own  time  as  M  Min- 
ister Hooker,"  was  one  of  the  most  influential  of  the  early  writers 
of  New  England.  lie  was  born  m  England,  irraduated  at  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  and  ordained  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Established  Ohorch.     Having  been  silenced  by  Arelilushop  Laud, 


SHEPARD,    COTTON.  395 

for  non-conformity,  he  spent  a  short  time  in  Holland,  and  then  came 
to  Massachusetts,,  in  1633,  with  the  reputation  of  being  "  without 
an  equal  either  in  preaching  or  in  disputation."  In  1636  he  re 
moved  from  Cambridge,  Mass.,  to  help  in  the  founding  of  the  colony 
of  Connecticut,  making  his  residence  at  Hartford,  where  he  spent 
the  rest  of  his  life.  His  writings  are  exclusively  religions.  From 
a  large  number  of  his  sermons  about  one  hundred  were  selected, 
after  his  death,  for  publication  in  London.  A  Survey  of  the 
Summe  of  Church  Discipline  was  his  most  notable  work  ;  the  most 
popular  was  The  Poor  Doubting  Christian  Drawn  to  Christ. 

1/ 

Thomas  Shepard  (1605-1649),  like  Hooker,  was  a  native  of 
England,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  a  Nonconformist  preacher,  a 
man  obnoxious  to  Archbishop  Laud,  and  an  exile  to  America.  He 
arrived  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1635,  and  in  the  following  year 
was  chosen  to  be  Hooker's  successor  as  pastor  of  the  church  in 
that  town.  In  England  he  had  been  famous  as  a  preacher  ;  in  the 
colonies  he  was  revered  as  a  man  of  great  learning  and  piety.  His 
pen  was  prolific  in  religious  treatises,  written  in  a  style  full  of 
energy,  and  sometimes  startling  with  eloquence.  Among  his 
writings  the  following  deserve  special  mention:  The  Clear  Sun- 
shine of  the  Gospel  Breaking  forth  upon  the  Indians  of  New  England, 
First  Principles  of  the  Oracles  of  God,  New  England's  Lamentations 
for  Old  England's  Errors.  Much  deference  was  paid  to  Shepard 
by  the  colonial  writers  of  his  time,  and  he,  more  frequently  than 
any  other  author,  was  quoted  by  them. 

John  Cotton  (1585-1652),  like  Hooker  and  Shepard,  was  of 
English  birth,  educated  at  Cambridge,  and  driven  from  England 
by  Laud  for  Nonconformity.  He  had  won  fame  in  England  as  the 
most  scholarly  and  powerful  of  Puritan  preachers,  and  upon  his 
arrival  in  Massachusetts,  in  1633,  he  was  ordained  to  fill  the  most 
conspicuous  pulpit  of  the  colony.  For  twenty  years,  preaching  all 
of  the  time  in  Boston,  he  was  recognized  as  the  masterly  man  of 
New  England.  He  was  full  of  energy,  of  magnetism,  most  posi- 
tive in  his  opinions,  bent  upon  making  the  government  of  New 
England  a  theocracy.  His  scholarship  was  so  varied  and  so  great, 
and  his  studies  were  so  untiringly  pursued,  that  he  commanded  the 


396  ROGER     WILLIAMS. 

admiration  of  his  fellow-clergymen  ;  while  his  success  as  a  preacher, 
and  his  shrewdness  as  a  man  of  affairs,  gave  him  unmatched  influ- 
ence over  the  laity.  No  other  man  of  America  has  been  so  nearly 
an  autocrat. 

It  was  the  man  rather  than  his  writings  that  made  John  Cotton's 
influence  so  great.  As  a  writer  he  was  far  less  accomplished  than 
either  Hooker  or  Shepard,  and  yet,  in  his  own  time,  his  writings 
were  applauded  as  much  as  theirs.  He  wrote  Of  the  Holiness  of 
Church  Members,  Of  Set  Forms  of  Prayer,  A  Practical  Commentary 
upon  the  First  Epistle  of  John,  Spiritual  Milk  for  Babes,  A  Treatise 
of  the  New  Covenant,  The  Kings  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and 
many  other  publications  bearing  similar  religious  or  theological 
titles.  But  the  writing  which  attracted  most  attention  to  him  in 
his  own  day  and  since  was  a  controversial  paper  entitled  The 
Bloody  Tenent  Washed,  written  in  a  vain  attempt  to  confute  the 
doctrine  taught  by  Roger  Williams,  that  the  Civil  Magistrate  had 
not  the  right  to  interfere  in  matters  of  religious  faith. 

"  Of  all  the  great  preachers  who  came  to  New  England  in  our 
first  age,  there  were  three  who,  according  to  the  universal  opinion 
of  their  contemporaries,  towered  above  all  others — Thomas  Hooker, 
Thomas  Shepard,  and  John  Cotton.  These  three  could  be  com- 
pared with  one  another,  but  with  them  could  be  compared  no  one 
else."* 

Although  the  great  mass  of  early  writing  in  New  England  was 
marked  by  Puritan  sternness,  there  were  men  profoundly  interrstnl 
in  the  advancement  of  liberty  who  gave  bold  and  powerful  expres- 
sion to  their  convictions. 

Roger  Williams  (1006-1683)  (l)t  was  the  most  conspicuous 
critic  of  the  popular  intolerance.  A  native  of  Wales,  a  graduate  of 
Oxford,  he  was,  for  a  time,  a  clergyman  of  the  English  Church. 
Convinced  that  any  national  Church  must  be  bigoted,  he  resigned 
his  orders.  In  1631  he  came  to  Massachusetts.  His  preaching  at 
Salem,  and  his  charity  for  the  Indians,  were  so  obnoxious,  that  he 
was  arraigned  in  1685,  tried,  and  banished  from  the  colony.     He 

*  Tyler1*  History  of  American  TAtfratmr.  Vol.  I.,  p.  193. 

t  The  heavy-faced  figures  throughout  this  sketch  of  American  Literature  refer 
to  selection*  in  Professor  B.  N.  Martin's  Choice  Specimens  of  American  Literature. 


ELIOT,    BRADSTREET.  397 

sought  the  hospitality  of  the  Indians,  made  it  his  "  soul's  desire  to 
do  the  natives  good,"  and  became  their  most  honored  friend. 
Having  founded  the  city  of  Providence  as  a  haven  of  religious 
liberty,  he  secured  a  charter  for  the  province  of  Rhode  Island, 
became  its  president,  and  devoted  his  life  to  establishing  the 
first  of  civil  governments  that  allowed  freedom  of  opinion.  For 
this  he  holds  a  most  honored  place  in  American  history.  His 
writings  are  numerous,  teaching  that  civil  authority  has  no  right 
to  interfere  with  the  conscience  of  its  citizens,  that  the  State  should 
never  punish  violations  of  the  first  four  Commandments  of  the 
Decalogue,  and  that  there  should  be  thorough  tolerance  in  all 
matters  of  religion.  "  Persecutions  of  men's  bodies,''  he  declared, 
"  seldom  or  never  do  these  men's  souls  good  ;  "  and  again,  he  pro- 
nounced it  "  a  monstrous  paradox  that  God's  children  should  per- 
secute God's  children,  and  that  they  that  hope  to  live  eternally 
together  with  Jesus  Christ  in  the  heavens  should  not  suffer  each 
other  to  live  in  the  common  air  together."  The  most  famous  of  his 
writings,  a  strong  and  noble  argument  and  plea  for  "  soul-liberty," 
bears  the  defiant  title,  The  Bloody  Tenet  of  Persecution  for  Cause 
of  Conscience.  It  was  published  in  London,  in  the  same  year  with 
Milton's  Areopagitica. 

John  Eliot  (1604-1690),  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  came  to 
Massachusetts  in  early  manhood  and  settled  at  Roxbury  as  a 
preacher.  "  The  Apostle  to  the  Indians,"  a  title  by  which  he  was 
known  in  his  own  time,  is  still  given  to  him.  His  fame  as  a  literary 
man  is  chiefly  due  to  his  translation  into  the  Indian  language  of  the 
Bible,  the  Bay  Psalm  Book,  Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  and 
other  religious  works.  He  wrote  in  English,  The  Christian  Com- 
monwealth, The  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  and  The  Communion  of 
Churches. 

Anne  Dudley  Bradstreet  (1612-1672),  a  lady  born  in  England, 
the  contemporary  of  John  Milton,  was  the  first  of  our  professional 
poets,  and  won  fame  above  all  other  American  writers  of  her  time. 
Daughter  of  one  Puritan  governor  (Dudley)  and  wife  of  another 
governor,  she  had  every  opportunity  for  influence  that  eminent 
social  position  could  give.  Moreover,  she  had  heroic  qualities.  In 
spite  of  feeble  health  she  reared  a  large  family  amid  the  trials  of 


398  THE     MATHERS. 

the  wilderness,  and  by  her  industry  and  talents  compelled  the 
austere  Puritans  to  recognize  in  her  the  most  accomplished  and 
most  influential  woman  of  New  England.  Their  praise  of  her  was 
lavish  ;  they  named  her  "  The  Tenth  Muse."  The  first  edition  of 
her  writings,  printed  in  1650,  aroused  such  pride  among  the  colo- 
nists as  no  other  writings  had  called  forth.  The  volume  contained  a 
series  of  poems,  with  four  related  themes  in  each  poem.  Its  title, 
worthy  of  attention  for  its  unique  stateliness,  reveals  ambitious 
effort.  The  title  is  "  The  Tenth  Muse  lately  sprung  up  in  Amer- 
ica ;  or,  Several  Poems,  compiled  with  great  variety  of  wit  and 
learning,  full  of  delight,  Wherein  especially  is  contained  a  com- 
plete discourse  and  description  of  the  four  elements,  constitu- 
tions, ages  of  man,  seasons  of  the  year ;  together  with  an  exact 
epitome  of  the  four  monarchies,  viz.,  the  Assyrian,  Persian,  Grecian, 
Roman ;  also  a  dialogue  between  Old  England  and  New  concerning 
the  late  troubles;  with  divers  other  pleasant  and  serious  poems: 
By  a  gentlewoman  of  those  parts." 

The  sombre  quality  of  Mrs.  Bradstreet's  verse  was  not  peculiar  to 
her ;  it  was  the  mannerism  belonging  to  all  the  Puritan  writers. 
Her  themes,  historical  and  scientific,  give  her  frequent  opportunity 
for  religious  reflection.  In  "  Contemplations,"  a  poem  written  later 
in  life,  she  rids  herself  of  some  of  her  earlier  mannerism,  and  dis- 
plays greater  freedom  of  poetic  feeling. 

The  Mathers,  A  father,  son,  and  grandson, — Richard,  Increase, 
and  Cotton  Mather,  were  men  of  immeasurable  influence  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Their  power  was  wielded  from  the  early  days  of  the 
colony  until  the  close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. They  were  men  of  great  mental  power,  of  self-assertion  and 
self-esteem,  of  profound  learning,  of  the  severest  Puritanism  in 
theology  and  in  manner  of  life ;  and  these  traits,  pronounced 
in  the  father,  were  stronger  in  the  son,  and  yet  stronger  in  the 
grandson.  "  This  fact  is  recorded  in  an  old  epitaph,  composed  for 
the  founder  of  the  illustrious  tribe: 

•  Under  this  stone  lies  Richard  Mather, 
Who  had  a  eon  greater  than  his  lather, 
And  eke  a  grandson  greater  than  either/  " 

Richard  Mather  (1596-1669),  after  leaving  Oxford,  became 
a  preacher  of  the  English  Church,  but,  for  the  crime  of  preaching 


THE     MATHERS.  399 

without  his  surplice,  he  was  silenced  by  the  Archbishop,  and  soon 
after,  disguised,  he  set  sail  for  Boston.  An  accomplished  scholar 
and  a  powerful  preacher,  his  services  were  in  great  demand.  He 
settled  at  Dorchester  in  1636,  and  there  lived  till  the  end  of  his 
days.  His  writings  were  voluminous,  consisting  of  published  ser- 
mons, controversial  papers,  and  religious  treatises.  He  was  the 
author  of  the  Preface  to  the  Old  Bay  Psalm  Book. 

Increase  Mather  (1639-1723),  was  the  first  of  the  eminent 
scholars  of  New  England  who  was  born  on  this  continent.  He  was 
a  native  of  Dorchester,  a  student  at  Harvard  in  his  thirteenth  year, 
a  graduate  at  seventeen.  In  his  twentieth  year  he  declined  a  fellow- 
ship at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  where  he  had  been  winning  schol- 
arly distinction,  and  then,  for  three  years,  was  a  powerful  preacher 
in  England.  Returning  to  America  in  his  twenty-fifth  year,  he 
accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  North  Church  in  Boston.  He  was 
more  than  an  eloquent  preacher ;  he  was  a  man  of  rare  learning,  of 
untiring  industry,  of  unyielding  will,  of  towering  ambition,  and  of 
great  political  shrewdness.  He  was  the  autocrat  of  Massachusetts. 
While  pastor  of  the  North  Church,  he  spent  some  years  at  the 
courts  of  James  n.  and  of  William  and  Mary,  as  the  diplomatist 
of  the  colony,  and  during  sixteen  years  of  his  pastorate  he  held 
the  Presidency  of  Harvard  College,  then  the  goal  of  Puritan  am- 
bition. For  more  than  fifty  years  of  his  life  he  was  the  most 
prolific  of  American  authors.  The  best  known  of  his  works  is  a 
volume  entitled  An  Essay  for  the  Recording  of  Illustrious  Providences. 
In  literary  style  Increase  Mather  is  more  exact,  simple,  vigorous, 
and  vivid  than  either  his  father  or  his  son. 

Cotton  Mather  (1663-1728  (2)  was  the  consummate  flower  of  a 
stock  of  scholarly  and  mighty  men.  Besides  his  inheritance  from 
the  Mathers  he  was  the  grandson  of  the  "  great  John  Cotton."  At 
fifteen  years  of  age  he  graduated  with  distinction  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege. Then  he  was  a  teacher  for  five  years,  receiving  ordination  as 
a  preacher  when  he  became  of  age.  His  first  sermon  was  preached 
at  Dorchester,  in  his  grandfather's  pulpit ;  his  second  sermon  was 
for  his  father's  pulpit  at  North  Church,  Boston ;  his  third  sermon 
for  his  grandfather,  John  Cotton,  in  Boston.  Thus  introduced  to 
the  pulpit  of  New  England,  and  already  famous  for  his  precocious 


400       LATER  COLONIAL  WRITERS. 

scholarship,  the  young  man  was  in  the  line  of  succession  for  pre- 
eminence among  the  Puritans.  His  learning  was  marvelous ;  he 
knew  all  classical  and  theological  literature,  and  was  able  to  com- 
mand his  knowledge  at  a  moment's  warning.  Of  himself  he  says, 
M I  am  not  unable,  with  a  little  .study,  to  write  in  seven  languages. 
I  feast  myself  with  the  secrets  of  all  the  sciences  which  the  more 
polite  part  of  mankind  admiringly  pretend  unto.  I  am  entertained 
with  all  kinds  of  histories,  ancient  and  modern."  The  people  of 
his  time  placed  him  before  all  other  men  in  greatness  and  godli- 
ness, and  by  their  praise  helped  him  to  a  very  high  opinion  of  him- 
self. Three  hundred  and  eighty-two  publications  are  ascribed  to 
him,  some  sermons,  some  ponderous  tomes.  His  Magnolia  Christi 
Americana :  or  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England  from  its 
first  Planting  in  the  year  1620,  unto  the  year  of  our  Lord  1698,  is  the 
most  bulky  of  his  works,  and  although  full  of  pedantry  and  error 
it  is  the  most  valuable  of  colonial  historical  writing.  He  was  the 
last  eminent  writer  of  the  Puritan  style; 

Later  Colonial  Writers. — At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  people  of  the  New  World  had  mastered  many  of  the 
difficulties  which  beset  them  in  their  earlier  history.  Their  settle- 
ments had  permanence  assured  to  them  ;  agriculture  and  commerce 
were  well  started;  the  colonies  had  formed  alliances  with  each 
other,  and  the  weaker  colonies  had  developed  strength. 

The  theocratic  spirit  of  Massachusetts  no  longer  dominated  New 
England.  In  the  northern  colonies  friends  and  laymen,  as  well  as 
the  orthodox  clergy,  were  using  their  pens.  Captain  Benjamin 
Church  (1639-1718),  who  commanded  the  forces  against  King 
Philip,  wrote  a  valuable  history,  entitled  Entertain  my  Passages  Re- 
lating to  King  PhilijSs  War.  Robert  Cale£  a  merchant  of  Boston, 
had  the  courage  to  publish,  in  1700,  a  book  attacking  the  Mathers 
and  others  of  the  clergy  who  had  fanned  the  flame  of  the  witch- 
craft delusion.  Benjamin  Thompson  (1640-1714),  "the  learned 
schoolmaster"  of  Boston,  and  Roger  Wolcott  (1679-1767),  gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut,  won  distinction  as  poets.  James  Logan 
(1674-1751),  chief  justice  of  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
founder  of  the  Loganian  Library  in  Philadelphia,  wrote  many 
scientific  papers,  which  were  republished  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent.    Cadwallader  Colden  (1688-1776),  (6),  a  physician,  and 


LATER  COLONIAL  WRITERS.        401 

lieutenant-governor  of  New  York,  was  the  author  of  many  scientific 
papers,  and  of  A  History  of  the  Five  Indian  Nations.  Thomas 
Clap  (1793-1767),  President  of  Yale  College,  a  thoughtful  and 
accomplished  writer,  was  the  author  of  religious,  speculative,  and 
historical  works.  Jonathan  Dickinson  (1688-1744),  the  first 
President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  was  a  man  of  such  power 
as  an  orator,  of  such  lofty  character,  that  he  had  commanding 
influence  throughout  the  middle  colonies.  He  ranked  next  to 
Jonathan  Edwards  as  a  logician  and  theologian,  having  a  Euro- 
pean reputation.  His  most  popular  work  was  a  volume  of  Fa- 
miliar Letters  to  a  Gentleman  upon  a  Variety  of  Seasonable  and  Im- 
portant Subjects  in  Religion. 

Virginia  was  no  longer  the  home  of  adventurers.  Her  citizens 
had  established  themselves  as  permanent  residents,  were  founding 
schools  and  colleges,  and  were  contributing  to  American  literature. 
Robert  Beverley,  a  young  Virginian,  the  earliest  of  our  Southern 
historians,  published  a  history  of  his  native  colony  in  170.5.  His 
work,  like  The  Present  State  of  Virginia,  written  by  Hugh  Jones, 
was  intended  to  correct  the  prejudices  which  had  been  created  in 
England  against  the  colony  and  its  territory  by  the  malcontents 
who  had  returned  to  the  mother  country.  But  the  man  deserving 
most  praise  among  the  writers  of  Virginia  was  James  Blair  (1656- 
1743),  the  first  President  of  William  and  Mary  College.  He  was 
a  Scotchman,  a  clergyman  of  the  English  Church,  who  came  to 
Virginia  in  compliance  with  the  urgent  solicitations  of  the  Bishop 
of  London.  His  greatest  service  to  the  Southern  colonies  was  his 
success  in  awakening  an  interest  in  education,  and  this  success  was 
won  by  untiring  effort.  He  wrote  important  papers  pertaining  to 
Virginia  and  its  college,  but  he  made  his  best  literary  reputation 
in  England  and  in  America  by  publishing  a  series  of  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  sermons  on  Our  Saviour's  Divine  Sermon  on  tin 
Mount. 


402  JONATHAN    EDWARDS. 


JONATHAN   EDWARDS. 

u  The  metaphysician  of  America."— Sir  James  Mackintosh. 

"The  most  subtle  reasoner  that  America  has  produced.  '—Prof.  A.  C.  Fraser. 

44 1  consider  Jonathan  Edwards  the  greatest  of  the  sons  of  men.  He  ranks  with 
the  brightest  luminaries  of  the  Christian  Church,  not  excluding  any  couutry  or  any 
age  since  the  apostolic."— Robert  Hall. 

"His  works  will  live  as  long  as  powerful  reasoning,  genuine  religion,  and  the 
science  of  the  human  mind  continue  to  be  objects  of  respect."—  William  Orme. 

"  I  do  not  think  our  age  has  produced  a  divine  of  equal  genius  or  judgment."— 
Dr.  Erskiiw. 

••  America  may  boast  of  one  metaphysician,  who,  in  logical  acuteness  and 
subtlety,  does  not  yield  to  any  disputant  bred  in  the  universities  of  Europe.  I 
need  not  say  that  I  allude  to  Jonathan  Edwards."— Dugald  Stetoart. 

44  We  do  not  scruple  to  say  that  he  is  one  of  the  acutest,  most  powerful,  and  of 
all  reasoners  the  most  conscientious  and  sincere." — William  Hazlitt. 

44  On  the  arena  of  metaphysics  he  stood  the  highest  of  all  his  contemporaries, 
and  we  know  not  what  most  to  admire  in  him,  whether  the  deep  philosophy  that 
issued  from  his  pen,  or  the  humble  and  child-like  piety  that  issued  from  bis 
pulpit."—  Dr.  Chalmers. 


Jonathan  Edwards  (1703-1758)  (3),  the  son  of  a  Congregational 
clergyman,  was  born  at  Windsor,  Connecticut.  He  entered  Yale 
College  in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  at  nineteen  was  settled  as  a 
preacher  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  year  following  he  was 
elected  a  tutor  at  Yale.  After  two  years  of  teaching  he  began 
his  famous  career  as  a  preacher  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts. 
There,  for  twenty-four  years,  he  toiled  with  such  success  as  to  win 
the  foremost  place  among  the  scholars  and  preachers  of  America  ; 
but  he  was  compelled  to  leave  his  beloved  pulpit,  for  dissension 
arose  in  his  church  on  account  of  the  plainness  and  severity  of  his 
preaching,  and  a  large  majority  of  his  congregation  were  against 
him.  He  then  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians  at  Stockbrldge, 
in  western  Massachusetts,  and  there,  finding  leisure  at  his  com- 
mand, he  began  the  systematic  statement  of  his  philosophy.  For 
eight  years,  with  his  wife  and  their  ten  children,  living  upon  the 
frontier  and  among  the  Indians,  in  great  poverty,  this  godly  man 
found  his  dutv  and  his  delight  in  philosophical  thought.     From 


JONATHAN    EDWARDS.  403 

this  obscure  place  he  was  summoned,  in  1758,  to  the  presidency  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey.  He  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office  in 
February,  and  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm ;  but  a  month 
later  he  died. 

No  religious  or  speculative  writer  of  our  colonial  period  can  be 
compared  favorably  with  Edwards.  He  was  a  profound  meta- 
physician, and  he  declared  the  Calvinistic  philosophy  with  a 
clearness  which  no  other  writer  had  equaled.  His  works  were 
more  voluminous  than  those  of  any  other  author  of  the  eighteenth 
century ;  and  the  profoundest  of  them,  the  Freedom  of  the  Will, 
which  was  also  the  profoundest  discussion  of  his  time,  was  written 
while  he  was  toiling  amid  severe  privations  as  a  missionary  among 
the  Indians. 

His  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  are  equally  admirable. 
Humility,  patience,  tolerance,  piety,  fervor,  reverence,  sincerity, 
unfaltering  faith,  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and  a  most  solemn 
consecration  to  duty,  are  among  the  virtues  of  his  character,  while 
clearness  and  incisiveness  of  thought,  sustained  powers  of  reason- 
ing, the  light  of  imagination,  the  closest  analysis  of  thought,  keen 
observation  of  man  and  of  nature,  and  literary  ardor,  are  intellec- 
tual forces  which  he  displays.  His  life  and  his  works  are  full  of 
solemn  awe  for  the  sovereignty  of  God. 

The  development  of  his  character  was  precocious,  for  even  in  his 
boyhood  he  had  firmly  established  the  principles  that  governed 
biin,  and  those  principles  were  written  into  the  famous  "  seventy 
resolutions"  to  "  regulate  his  heart  and  life." 

The  first  five  of  those  resolutions  may  serve  as  samples  of  the 
rigorous  discipline  which  he  exercised  over  himself: 

1.  Resolved,  That  I  will  do  whatsoever  I  think  to  be  most  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  my  own  good,  profit,  and  pleasure,  in  the  whole  of  my  duration,  without  any 
consideration  of  the  time,  whether  now,  or  never  so  many  myriads  of  ages 
hence. 

2.  Resolved,  To  do  whatever  I  think  to  be  my  duty  and  most  for  the  good  oi 
mankind  in  general. 

3.  Resolved,  Never  to  lose  one  moment  of  time,  but  to  improve  it  in  the  most 
profitable  way  I  possibly  can. 

4.  Resolved,  To  live  with  all  my  might  while  I  do  live. 

5.  Resolved,  Never  to  do  anything  which  I  should  be  afraid  to  do  if  it  were  th* 
last  hour  of  my  life. 


404  EDWARDS,     FRANKLIN. 

In  his  sixteenth  year  Edwards  read  Locke's  Essay  on  the  Human 
Understanding.  It  gave  him  "  far  higher  pleasure  than  the  most 
greedy  miser  finds  when  gathering  up  handfuls  of  silver  ancf  gold 
from  some  newly  discovered  treasure."  His  enthusiasm  for  meta- 
physical thinking  never  abated ;  but  all  of  his  speculations  were 
directed  towards  theology. 

Not  even  an  enumeration  of  his  many  publications  can  be  given 
in  this  sketch.  Among  his  famous  writings  are  The  History  of  the 
Work  of  Redemption,  An  Account  of  the  Life  of  the  Late  Rev.  David 
Brainard,  Missionary  to  the  Indians,  A  I'reatise  concerning  Religious 
Affections,  and  an  Inquiry  into  the  Freedom  of  the  Witt. 

The  Treatise  Concerning  Religious  Affections,  written  during  his 
pastorate  at  Northampton,  was  the  product  of  long-continued  study. 
It  is  written  in  careless  style,  but  its  thoughts  are  profound,  and 
its  analysis  of  the  affections  of  mind  under  religious  influence,  and 
its  characterizations  of  hypocrisy,  are  masterly. 

After  his  removal  to  Stockbridge,  Edwards  had  opportunity 
to  give  his  time  almost  wholly  to  study,  and  there,  from  notes  of 
his  former  thinking,  he  developed  and  arranged  the  argument  by 
which  he  defended,  upon  metaphysical  grounds,  the  theology  of 
Calvin  against  the  opposing  views  of  Arminianism,  and  after  five 
months  of  writing  he  had  completed  his  famous  Inquiry  into  the 
Freedom  of  the  Will.  That  work  made  him  eminent  among  the 
metaphysicians  of  the  world. 

BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

"Franklin  was  the  gnat  est  diplomatist  of  the  eighteenth  century."—  Gtorgt 
Bancroft. 

••  His  genius  ranks  him  with  the  Galileos  and  the  Newtons  of  the  Old  World."-  • 
Lord  Brougham. 

"Antiquity  would  have  raised  altars  to  this  mighty  genius."— }[irabeau. 

"  Science -appeui  to  hia  language  in  a  dress  wonderfbliy  deeorooe,  beat  adapted 
to  display  her  native  loveliness."—  Sir  Humphny  Dary. 

Benjamin  Franklin  (170G-1790),  (13—16),  the  son  of  a 
poor  man,  was  taken  from  school  at  ten  years  of  age,  and 
set  at  work  to  help  his  father  in  making  candles.  The  boy 
had  a  passion  for  reading  and  for  the  sea.  At  twelve,  he 
was  bound  an  apprentice  to  an  older  brother  in  the  printer's 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.  405 

trade.  This  apprenticeship  was  intended  by  the  father  to 
prevent  the  boy  from  running  away ;  it  was  welcomed  by 
the  boy,  inasmuch  as  it  gave  him  access  to  books.  In  foul 
years  he  was  an  expert  in  his  business,  and  resenting  the 
lack  of  appreciation,  and  the  tyranny  of  his  brother,  he 
escaped  his  indenture,  and  fled  to  Philadelphia.  There  he 
worked  at  his  trade,  was  thrifty  and  studious,  and  watchful 
for  any  chance  that  might  help  him-.  The  governor  of  the 
colony  professed  great  interest  in  him,  and  persuaded  him 
to  go  to  Englaud  for  the  purpose  of  buying  the  outfit  for  a 
new  printing-office  in  Philadelphia ;  but  the  governor  proved 
to  be  a  faithless  friend.  After  working  a  year  at  his  trade 
in  England,  Franklin  returned  to  Philadelphia  and  be- 
came the  proprietor  of  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette.  Success 
attended  him.  He  was  popular  with  all  classes,  and 
was  especially  influential  among  young  men  of  studious 
habits.  At  this  time  he  devised  a  plan  for  a  library,  and 
founded  what  has  grown  to  be  the  "  Library  Company  of 
Philadelphia."  In  1732  he  published  the  first  number  of 
Poor  Richard's  Almanac,  a  publication  of  great  popularity 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  At  thirty  years  of  age  he  was 
prominent  in  all  movements  for  the  public  welfare,  was 
made  clerk  of  the  provincial  General  Assembly,  and  post- 
master of  Philadelphia.  As  commissioner  to  the  Indians, 
as  member  of  the  Assembly,  as  founder  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  as  one  of  the  founders  of  the  first 
hospital  in  the  land,  as  an  investigator  in  science,  and  as 
an  author,  he  won  an  eminent  place  in  his  city  and  in  the 
colony.  His  fame  went  abroad.  Scholastic  degrees  were 
conferred  upon  him  by  Yale  and  Harvard  and  the  universi- 
ties of  Edinburgh  and  Oxford,  he  was  elected  a  "  Fellow  of 
the  Royal  Society,"  and  in  1757  the  king  appointed  him 
Postmaster  General  of  America.  During  one  of  his  visits 
to  England  he  was  summoned  before  the  bar  of  the  House 
of  Commons  to  be  interrogated  in  regard  to  the  government 


406  BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

of  the  colonies.  His  influence  on  that  occasion  secured  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  When  the  national  impulse 
started  in  this  country  he  was  one  of  its  leaders,  and  was 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  During  the 
War  of  the  Revolution  he  was  our  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
at  the  Court  of  France,  where  he  won  great  fame  as  a 
diplomatist.  His  country  revered  him,  and  in  his  old  age 
he  won  fresh  laurels  as  a  statesman  of  wonderful  sagacity. 
He  was  made  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  in  1785,  and  rep- 
resented his  State  in  the  Federal  Convention  of  1787.  In 
1790,  at  the  age  of  eighty- four,  then  being  the  special  object 
of  his  country's  veneration,  he  died. 

Striking  points  of  contrast  appear  between  Edwards  and 
Franklin,  the  two  gigantic  thinkers  of  our  colonial  period. 
The  son  of  an  eminent  divine,  thoroughly  trained  in  all  the 
learning  of  his  day,  called  to  active  work  in  his  profession 
while  yet  in  his  teens,  applauded  by  admiring  colleagues, 
Edwards  could  not  have  had  better  help  in  the  cultivation 
of  his  great  natural  gifts;  while  Franklin,  among  the 
youngest  of  a  family  of  seventeen  children,  reared  in  pov- 
erty, without  early  instruction,  an  exile  from  his  home,  had 
a  dreary  way  to  travel,  alone,  unguided,  and  beset  by  many 
hindrances.  In  their  later  years,  Edwards,  having  left  the 
most  conspicuous  pulpit  in  New  England,  dwelt  in  the  soli- 
tude of  the  wilderness ;  while  Franklin,  emerging  from  the 
obscurity  of  the  printer's  shop,  became  the  most  conspicu- 
ous social  gentleman  of  England  and  America.  Their 
mental  characters  are  as  dissimilar  as  their  careers.  Ed- 
wards, eager  to  serve  mankind,  spent  all  his  energy  in  the 
work  of  a  metaphysician ;  equally  devoted  to  the  service  of 
his  fellow-men,  Franklin  displayed  the  forces  of  his  versa- 
tile genius  as  a  moralist,  a  philosopher,  a  diplomat,  a  states- 
man, a  philanthropist.  Edwards  wrought  to  establish  the  old 
faiths;  Franklin  developed  new  ideas;  the  theologian  was 
the  strictest  of  his  sect ;  the  philosopher  was  latitudinarian. 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIK.  407 

Both  were  men  of  measureless  power,  of  tireless  industry, 
of  unswerving  integrity;  and  both  were  animated  by  a 
sacred  purpose  to  do  good  in  the  world. 

Franklin's  writings,  edited  by  Dr.  Jared  Sparks  in  ten 
rolumes  octavo,  are  classified  as  follows:— 1.  Autobiography. 
2.  Essays  on  Religious  and  Moral  Subjects  and  the  Economy 
9/  Life.  3.  Essays  on  General  Politics,  Commerce,  and 
Political  Economy.  4.  Essays  and  Tracts,  Historical  and 
Political,  before  the  American  Revolution.  5.  Political 
Papers  during  and  after  the  American  Revolution.  6. 
Letters  and  Papers  on  Electricity.  7.  Letters  and  Papers 
on  Philosophical  Subjects.     8.  Correspondence. 

The  clearness,  force  and  naturalness  of  his  style  give 
charms  to  every  page ;  shrewdness  of  thought  and  power  of 
concise  expression  made  him  the  author  of  a  great  number 
of  our  proverbs.  "At  all  times,  and  in  everything  he 
undertook,  the  vigor  of  an  understanding  at  once  original 
and  practical,  was  distinctly  perceivable.  But  it  must  not 
be  supposed  that  his  writings  are  devoid  of  ornament  or 
amusement.  The  latter  especially  abounds,  in  almost  all 
he  ever  composed,  only  nothing  is  sacrificed  to  them.  On 
the  contrary,  they  come  most  naturally  into  their  places, 
and  they  uniformly  help  on  the  purpose  in  hand,  of  which 
neither  writer  nor  reader  ever  loses  sight  for  an  instant. 
Thus  his  style  has  all  the  vigor,  and  even  conciseness,  of 
Swift,  without  any  of  his  harshness."  * 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  :— 

The  Colonial  Period  of  American  Literature, 

1.  Thomas  Hooker,  Thomas  Shepard,  John  Cot- 

ton, Roger  Williams. 

2.  Anne  Dudley  Bradstreet. 

3.  TJie  Mathers. 

4.  Jonathan  Edwards. 
6.  Benjamin  Franklin. 

*  Lord  Jeffrey. 


CHAPTER    ft. 

THE     REVOLUTIONARY    PERIOD. 

From  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  the  Adoption  of  the 
Constitution. 

THE  literature  of  our  Kevolutionary  period  is  vigorous 
and  profound  in  its  discussion  of  the  political  rights 
of  man.  There  had  been  preparation  for  such  writing.  A 
century  and  a  half  of  fighting  against  the  savages  and  of 
resisting  the  oppressive  legislation  of  England,  had  made  the 
colonists  forgetful  of  their  mutual  jealousies.  They  were 
ready  to  unite  in  asking  their  king  for  redress  of  grievances. 
Their  petitions  were  ignored,  and  they  made  their  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  appealing  to  the  King  of  kings  for 
their  rights.  The  sacred  right  to  rebel  against  tyranny  had 
never  been  fully  broached  till  then;  but  our  fathers  de- 
clared it  with  all  the  emphasis  that  strong  convictions  could 
give.  They  drew  their  swords  for  a  political  conviction. 
"  The  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  asserted  a  right  to  tax 
the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever  ;  and  it  was  precisely  on 
this  question  that  they  made  the  Revolution  turn.  The 
amount  of  taxation  was  trifling,  but  the  claim  itself  was 
inconsistent  with  liberty,  and  that  was  in  their  eyes  enough. 
It  was  against  the  recital  of  an  act  of  Parliament)  rather 
than  against  any  suffering  under  its  enactments,  thai  they 
took  up  arms.  They  went  to  war  against  a  preamble.  They 
fought  seven  years  against  a  declaration.  They  poured  out 
their  treasures  and  their  blood  like  water,  in  a  contest  in 
opposition  to  an  assertion  which  those  less  sagacious  and 


JAMES     OTIS.  409 

not  so  well  schooled  iu  the  principles  of  civil  liberty  would 
have  regarded  as  barren  phraseology  or  mere  parade  of 
words." ■*  Men  who  had  the  heroism  to  take  such  a  posi- 
tion were  capable  of  producing  noble  political  literature. 
Orators  began  to  clothe  the  thoughts  of  the  j^eople  in  elo- 
quent words,  and  writers  produced  many  vigorous  pam- 
phlets. Already  for  half  a  century  the  weekly  newspapers, 
small  folios  of  four  pages,  had  been  publishing  and  discuss- 
ing political  news  in  the  colonies,  and  three  or  four  monthly 
magazines  had  been  sustained  for  a  decade  by  American 
authors  and  readers,  so  that  the  way  had  been  prepared  for 
the  reception  of  new  political  writing.  And  there  were 
educated  men  who  had  been  trained  in  the  early  American 
colleges. 

The  presidents  of  these  colleges  were  eminent  among 
religious  and  political  thinkers,  and  one  of  them  wielded 
great  political  influence.  John  Wither  spoon,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
(1722 — 1794),  president  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  a  member 
of  the  General  Congress  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
was  one  of  its  most  active  workers.  A  brilliant  debater,  a 
ready,  humorous,  and  argumentative  writer,  his  voice  and 
pen  were  helpful  in  securing  the  independence  of  America, 
Ezra  Stiles,  D.D.,  LL.D.  (1727—1795),  of  whom  Channing 
said  in  1835,  "This  country  has  not,  perhaps,  produced  a 
more  learned  man,"  was  president  of  Yale  College  for  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  His  writings  were  usually  scholastic 
or  theological,  but  a  few  of  them  gave  inspiration  to  the 
patriotism  of  his  times. 

The  earliest  of  the  great  orators  who  led  the  way  to  freedom  was 
James  Otis  (1725-1783),  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  scholarly 
lawyer,  who  wrote  treatises  on  Latin  and  Greek  prosody  at  the 
time  when  he  was  winning  renown  in  his  profession.  In  1761 
he  made  his  powerful   argument  against  "writs  of  assistance," 

*  Daniel  Webster. 


410  HAMILTON,     JEFFERSON. 

and  committed  himself  as  an  uncompromising  foe  to  arbitrary 
British  rule  in  America.  His  eloquence  was  a  "flame  of  fire." 
Among  Lis  political  writings  are  A  Vindication  of  the  Conduct  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  The  Rights  of  the 
British  Colonists  Asserted  and  Proved,  and  A  Vindication  of  the  British 
Colonists. 

Alexander  Hamilton  (1757-1804),  (66-67),  was  a  native  of  the 
West  Indies.  At  sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  King's  College,  at 
New  York.  A  year  later,  at  a  mass  meeting  in  the  city,  he  displayed 
astounding  precocity  as  an  orator,  and  at  once  was  recognized  as  a 
leader  of  the  revolutionists.  In  his  nineteenth  year  he  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  company  of  artillery  which  had  been  raised  by 
the  Provincial  Committee  of  New  York,  and  began  his  career  as  a 
soldier.  Washington  quickly  recognized  his  gifts,  and  summoned 
him  to  the  staff  of  the  commander-in-chief.  He  was  Washington's 
"most  confidential  aide,"  and  served  him  as  secretary,  writing  many 
valuable  military  papers.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  practiced  law 
in  New  York,  and  was  leader  of  the  bar  of  that  city.  In  securing 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  besides 
making  the  most  brilliant  forensic  arguments,  he  wrote  many 
papers  of  masterly  power.  He  was  the  author  of  fifty-one  numbers 
of  the  Federalist,  and  his  share  in  that  work  was  so  much  esteemed 
that  it  was  promptly  translated  into  French,  and  was  widely  read 
in  Europe.  De  Tocqueville  said  of  it  that  '*  it  ought  to  be  familiar 
to  the  statesmen  of  every  nation."  As  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
under  Washington,  Hamilton  was  author  of  the  most  famous  state 
papers  which  have  been  written  in  our  country.  At  the  same  time 
his  brilliant  pen  wrote  the  letters  of  "  Camillus,"  a  profound  series 
of  papers  on  questions  of  international  law. 

In  serving  his  country  Hamilton  had  thwarted  the  ambition  of 
Aaron  Burr.  The  antipathy  felt  by  Burr  forced  a  duel  between 
them,  and  Hamilton  fell.  Fisher  Ames,  Hamilton's  rival  as  an 
orator,  wrote,  "My  soul  stiffens  with  despair  when  I  think  what 
Hamilton  might  have  been." 

Thomas  Jefferson  (1743-1826),  (61-64),  lacking  the  gifts  of  an 
orator,  aspired  to  literary  honors.  His  radicalism  belonged  to  his 
religion  and  his  morals  as  well  as  to  his  politics,  so  that  novel t\  of 


WASHINGTON,     ADAMS,    JAY.  411 

thought  and  force  of  expression  abound  in  his  writing.  In  addition 
to  papers  of  the  State,  he  was  the  author  of  a  Parliamentary  Manual, 
of  Notes  on  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  of  voluminous  and  interesting 
correspondence;  but  no  literary  work  could  add  to  the  fame  won 
by  him  as  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

George  Washington  (1732-1799),  (249),  is  not  ranked  among  the 
authors  of  his  times,  and  yet  his  writings  fill  twelve  octavo  volumes. 
They  contain  official  papers,  selected  letters,  and  now  and  then  an 
essay  on  some  agricultural  topic.  "Writing  was  not  a  pleasure  to 
him,  but,  like  everything  which  he  attempted,  it  was  carefully  done. 
It  has  been  said  that  there  was  "  a  certain  considerate,  moral  tone 
which  distinguished  all  Washington's  writing.  It  is  stamped  by 
the  position,  the  character,  the  very  turns  of  phrase  of  the  great 
man  who  gave  it  to  his  country." 

John  Adams  (1735-1826),  (56,  57)  wrote  A  Dissertation  on 
Canon  and  Feudal  Law,  A  History  of  the  Quarrel  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  American  Colonies,  A  Defense  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  Discourses  on  Davila,  a  series  of  Papers  on  Ameri- 
can History.  Two  volumes  of  Letters,  addressed  to  his  wife,  have  a 
permanent  place  in  literature. 

John  Jay  (1745-1829),  (65),  James  Madison  (1751-1836), 
(72,  73),  James  Monroe  (1758-1831),  and  William  Livingston 
(1723-1790),  belonged  to  the  group  of  eminent  statesmen  whose 
pens  wielded  mighty  influence  over  the  national  thought  during 
the  Revolutionary  period,  and  their  writings  add  luster  to  our 
political  literature. 

Hardship  and  solicitude  did  not  quench  the  humor  of  our  fore- 
fathers. The  same  Revolutionary  period  which  inspired  the  ear- 
nest writings  of  the  statesmen  abounded  in  humorous  and  satiric 
writings.  Francis  Hopkinson,  of  New  Jersey  (1737-1791),  "  a 
poet,  a  wit,  a  patriot,  a  chemist,  a  mathematician,  and  a  judge  of 
the  admiralty,"  wielded  a  powerful  influence  as  a  humorous  teacher 
of  political  independence.  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  of  Phila- 
delphia (1748-1816),  teacher,  editor,  preacher,  and  lawyer  in  turn, 
had  literary  fame  in  his  day.  His  Modem  Chivalry  ;  the  Adventures 
of  Captain  Farrago,  still  gives  him  reputation  as  a  humorist.    John 


412  RUSH,    RAMSAY. 

Trumbull,  of  Connecticut  (1750-1831),  (316),  a  voluminous  author, 
published  in  1775  McFingal,  A  Modern  Epic  Poem,  in  imitation  of 
Hudibras,  to  "  satirize  the  follies  and  extravagances  of  my  country- 
men as  well  as  of  their  enemies."  The  success  of  the  poem  made 
him  the  most  conspicuous  literary  character  of  his  day  in  this 
country.  Benjamin  Rush  (1745-1813),  (101),  an  eminent  surgeon 
of  Philadelphia,  wrote  many  scientific  and  social  papers  of  great 
value.  David  Ramsay  (1745-1815),  (114),  of  South  Carolina,  wa£ 
the  most  distinguished  of  early  American  historians. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

Hie  Revolutionary  Period  of  American  Literature. 
1,  John  Witherspoon,  Ezra  Stiles. 
2»  James  Otis. 

3.  Alexander  Hamilton,  Thomas  Jefferson,  George 
Washington ,  John  Adams,  and  minor  writers. 


CHAPTEB    HI. 

THE    NATIONAL    PERIOD. 

THE  war  of  1776  gave  to  Americans  an  independent 
political  existence,  and  it  is  fitting  that  this  fact 
should  be  marked  in  their  literary  annals  ;  but  it  must  never 
be  forgotten  that  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  in 
1787.  did  not  bring  with  it  a  new  and  original  literature. 
Our  modes  of  thought,  our  style  of  expression,  remained 
for  many  years  distinctively  English  ;  nor  is  any  change 
which  we  may  observe  at  present  to  be  attributed  to  the 
influence  of  our  vaunted  institutions,  so  much  as  to  the 
enforced  contact  with  Continental  thought  and  customs 
brought  to  us  by  the  stream  of  immigration.  Nobody 
believes  any  longer  in  America's  peculiar  literary  mission, — 
a  mission  fairly  described  in  the  words  of  the  late  Sidney 
Lanier  as  "  *  *  *  going  to  give  a  great  new  revolutionized 
democratic  literature,  which  will  wear  a  slouch  hat  and 
have  its  shirt  open  at  the  bosom,  and  generally  riot  in  a 
complete  independence  of  form."  The  ablest  critic  of  to- 
day, and  the  impartial  historian  of  our  past,  must  alike 
admit  that  the  highest  claim  for  our  literature,  as  well  as  its 
truest  description,  is  that  of  being  English  written  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Although  we  disclaim  for  our  literature  any  nationality 
that  consists  in  a  novelty  of  theme  or  treatment  which 
might  properly  be  considered  the  outgrowth  of  our  polit- 
ical theories  or  the  expression  of  "  our  vastness,"  we  would 
emphasize  the  fact  that  there  has  been  a  continuous  prog- 


414  THE     NATIONAL     PERIOD. 

ress  in  the  scope  and  delicacy  of  our  literary  art.  Neces- 
sary toil,  constant  privation,  poverty,  and  the  thousand 
other  adverse  circumstances  that  stunted  literature  during 
the  Colonial  and  Eevolutionary  periods,  have  given  way 
before  the  softening  influences  of  time,  of  fertile  soil  and 
assured  government,  thus  making  leisure  and  contemplation 
increasingly  within  the  reach  of  all  classes.  The  first  result 
of  this  change  is  to  be  noticed  in  the  fact  that  our  writers 
are  no  longer  so  exclusively  ministers  and  women.  Their 
literary  responsibility  seems  to  have  been  at  first  shared 
with  the  Congressmen  who  went  to  debate  at  Washington, 
and  the  Senators  and  Kepresentatives  who  formed  the  State 
legislatures.  As  the  uprightness  of  the  individual  had  been 
the  burden  of  Colonial  literature,  so  the  integrity  of  the 
State  was  the  first  care  of  the  young  nation,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  ardor  of  this  labor  had  somewhat  spent  itself  that 
more  artistic  claims  asserted  themselves. 

The  last  fifty  years  have  brought  significant  changes,  all 
tending  to  emphasize  the  lines  of  distinction  between  pro- 
fessions ;  and  we  look  back  on  the  men  of  two  generations 
ago  with  the  feeling  that  they  must  have  been  giants.  Even 
legislative  business  was  idealized,  and  its  record  became 
heroic.  The  speeches  which  Webster  (85 — 88),  Calhoun 
(8fc — 84),  and  Clay  (80 — 81),  wrote  in  support  of  measures 
that  are  utterly  forgotten  still  stir  our  blood.  But  the 
lengthening  lines  of  our  national  perspective  have  already 
dwarfed  many  reputations  that  once  seemed  towering. 

During  the  opening  years  of  this  period  the  influence  of 
French  thought  was  very  distinctly  marked.  Thomas  Paine, 
the  author  of  the  pamphlet  Common  Sense,  which  had  been 
so  influential  in  deciding  the  colonists  to  enter  upon  the 
straggle  for  independence,  published  in  1791  and  K 
vindication  of  the  French  Revolution  under  the  title  of  The 
Rights  of  Man.  The  Age  of  Reason,  a  later  work  of  Paine**, 
has  been  the  armory  from  which  the  weapons  for  most  sub- 


FBBKEAU,    BARLOW,    DWIGHT,  415 

sequent  attacks  upon  revealed  religion  and  conventional 
morality  have  been  taken. 

Philip  Freneau  (1752-1832),  (317),  was  the  first  American 
poet  whose  verses  were  much  read  in  England  ;  but  in  spite  of  this, 
and  the  fact  that  his  first  volume,  published  in  1786,  celebrated 
the  events  of  the  Revolution  and  narrated  the  author's  own  expe- 
rience in  a  British  prison-ship,  it  is  as  the  editor  of  the  National 
Gazette  and  the  opponent  of  Hamilton  that  lie  is  chiefly  remem- 
bered in  history.  Freneau  was  a  warm  advocate  of  French  politi- 
cal opinions. 

Joel  Barlow  (1775-1812),  minister,  psalm-writer,  lawyer  and 
politician,  was  also  a  disciple  of  French  republicanism.  He  pro- 
jected a  history  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  one  of  the  United 
States,  but  never  carried  out  either  plan.  He  was  a  friend  of  the 
Girondins,  opposed  Washington's  government,  and  was  Minister  to 
France  under  Monroe.  His  Vision  of  Columbus  was  published  in 
1787 ;  the  Columhiad  in  1808. 

Timothy  Dwight  (1752-1817),  (20—21),  met  with  success  in 
civil  affairs,  in  poetry,  and  in  theology.  As  president  of  Yale 
College  for  twenty-one  years  before  his  death,  he  seems  to  have 
added  teaching  to  his  other  gifts.  He  is  perhaps  most  widely 
known  as  a  poet,  in  his  version  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
seventh  Psalm,  "  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord."  His  contribution  to 
theology  was  in  five  volumes,  published  after  his  death  under  the 
title  Theology  Explained  and  Defended,  a  work  very  influential  in 
the  Congregational  denomination.  His  satirical  poem,  The  Tri- 
umph of  Infidelity,  was  dedicated  to  Voltaire. 

Charles  Brockden  Brown  (1771-1810),  (276),  the  first  American 
novelist,  and  the  first  of  our  authors  to  adopt  literature  as  a  pro- 
fession, was  a  man  of  remarkable  scope  of  mind,  but  weak  in  body. 
During  his  short  life,  which  was  a  constant  struggle  with  ill  health, 
he  wrote  a  succession  of  fictions,  essays,  political  papers,  and  frag- 
ments of  works  on  history,  geography,  and  architecture.  Wieland, 
published  in  1798,  gives  evidence  of  the  strong  influence  of  Godwin, 
who  had  published  his  Caleb  Williams  four  years  earlier  in  England. 


416  CHARLES    BBOCKDEN    BROWN. 

Arthur  Mervyn,  his  third  novel,  is  still  read  for  its  realistic  descrip- 
tion of  the  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia.  Brown  made  several 
attempts  to  establish  a  magazine,  under  the  names  of  the  Monthly 
Magazine  and  American  Register  (1799),  The  Literary  Magazine  and 
American  Register  (1803),  The  American  Register,  a  semi-annual 
(1807).  His  literary  style  is  remarkable  for  its  clearness,  strength, 
and  melancholy ;  his  character  for  its  gentleness  and  equanimity 
under  misfortune. 

The  names  of  Hannah  Adams,  David  Ramsay,  Jeremy  Bel- 
knap (113),  and  Abiel  Holmes  are  connected  with  the  historical 
research  of  this  period.  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry  and  Chief 
Justice  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington  are  still  read. 

Most  of  our  early  science,  best  represented  by  the  labors  of 
Rush  and  Wilson,  has  comparatively  little  literary  value. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  1812  the 
literary  activity  of  the  country  took  on  a  controversial  aspect,  result- 
ing in  the  formation  of  groups  of  writers  associated  by  moral  or  artistic 
principles.  New  York  and  Boston  became  the  headquarters  of  the 
rival  claimants  for  public  hearing.  Historically,  and  perhaps  artist- 
ically too,  Boston  established  her  precedence.  In  that  city,  in  the 
midst  of  the  u  hard  times  "  of  the  first  year  of  the  war,  Nathaniel 
Willis  (father  of  the  poet)  was  employed  by  Dr.  Jedediah  Morse 
(father  of  the  electrician)  to  print  several  editions  of  a  pamphlet 
entitled  American  Unitarianism,  which  attracted  much  attention, 
and  led  to  the  famous  Unitarian  controversy.  The  Park  Street 
lectures  by  Dr.  Griffin,  sermons,  addresses,  and  magazine  articles  by 
all  the  ministers  of  ability  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  testified 
to  the  awakened  interest.  Foremost  among  those  upholding  the 
Unitarian  doctrine  were  Dr.  Channing,  Dr.  Ware,  and  Professor  Nor- 
ton, while  Dr.  Morse,  Moses  Stuart,  Leonard  Woods,  and  Dr.  Worces- 
ter were  equally  stanch  in  their  support  of  the  orthodox  views. 

The  First  Religious  Newspaper.  Dr.  Morse  and  Mr.  Willis 
have  both  claimed  that  the  Boston  Recorder,  established  in  1816, 
was  the  first  religious  newspaper  ever  published ;  but  there  seems 
to  be  little  doubt  that,  although  the  original  idea  \v:is  the  property 
of  Mr.  Willis,  the  credit  of  actually  publishing  the  earliest  is  due 
to  John  Andrews,  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  whose  paper,  also  the  Re- 
corder, was  issued  from  1814  to  1817,  inclusive. 


CHANNING,     PARKER.  417 

The  most  prominent  literary  figure  among  these  earnest  and 
learned  men  was  William  Ellery  (manning  (1780-1842),  (24-26). 
The  characteristics  of  his  writings  are  enthusiasm  and  moral  energy. 
By  his  direct  and  uncompromising  treatment  of  the  subjects  of 
slavery,  war,  temperance,  and  education,  he  gained  a  remarkable 
influence  over  the  opinions  of  the  young  people  of  his  generation. 
He  had  profound  respect  for  personal  liberty  and  responsibility. 
In  spite  of  his  small  stature  and  feeble  health,  his  oratory  was  by 
turns  powerful  and  winning.  His  best  known  essays  are  the  Moral 
Argument  against  Calvinism  (1820),  Remarks  on  the  Character  and 
Writings  of  John  Milton  (1826),  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Fcnelon,  and 
Self-  Culture. 

The  influence  of  this  controversy  has  been  felt  down  to  our  own 
day,  and  has  been  the  animus  of  much  of  the  writing  of  Lyman 
Beecher  (23),  Charles  Hodge,  President  Hopkins,  on  the  orthodox 
side,  of  James  Freeman  Clarke,  Dr.  Bellows,  Dr.  Peabody,  and 
Theodore  Parker  among  the  liberals. 

Theodore  Parker  (1810-1860),  (168—171),  was  born  in  1810  at 
Lexington,  Mass.  He  was  the  grandson  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
and  seems  to  have  inherited  a  good  deal  of  the  spirit  of  resistance 
which  fired  his  sturdy  ancestor.  His  literary  work  consists  largely 
of  sermons  written  on  questions  of  slavery,  war,  social  and  moral 
reforms;  of  lectures,  a  few  critical  essays,  and  papers  on  theological 
subjects.  His  scholarship,  though  hardly  profound,  was  encyclo- 
paedic ;  his  temper  courageous  and  energetic.  The  influence  of  his 
incisive  thought  was  great,  both  on  antagonists  and  on  adherents. 
He  was  proscribed  by  the  Unitarian  societies  of  Boston  for  his 
extreme  theological  opinions,  and  organized  some  time  about  1844 
a  congregation  which  met  in  the  Melodeon,  and  later  in  the  Music 
Hall.     He  died  in  Florence  in  1860. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

1,  Thomas  Paine;  2,  Philip  Freneau ;  3,  Joel  Bar- 
low ;  4.  John  Trumbull ;  5.  Timothy  Dwight; 
6.  Charles  Brockden  Brown;  7.  William 
Ellery  Charming  ;  8,  Theodore  Barker •, 


CHAPTEB    IV. 

WASHINGTON   IRVING   AND   THE   KNICKERBOCKER    WRITERS. 

"  I  have  had  a  friend  of  your  Mr.  living's, .  .  .  and  talked  with  him  much  of 
Irving,  whose  writings  are  my  delight."— Byron. 

"  Few,  very  few,  can  show  a  long  succession  of  volumes  so  pure,  so  graceful, 
and  so  varied,  as  Mr.  Irving.'"— Mary  Russell  Mitford. 

"  I  have  never  read  anything  so  closely  resembling  the  style  of  Dean  Swift  as  the 
Annals  of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker."— Sir  Walter  Scott. 

"  Mr.  Washington  Irving  is  one  of  our  first  favorites  among  the  English  writers 
of  this  age,  and  he  is  not  a  bit  the  less  so  for  having  been  born  in  America." — 
J.  6.  Lockhart. 

WHILE  Boston  was  the  arena  in  which  the  most  philosophical 
minds  of  America  were  fighting  the  battles  of  theology, 
New  York  was  the  scene  of  a  much  milder  and  more  genial  display 
of  mental  activity.  Local  traditions  were  revived  and  given  to  the 
public  in  the  pages  of  magazines  that  attempted  to  reproduce  the 
ease  and  grace  of  the  Spectator  and  Taller.  Young  poets  threw  off 
their  copies  of  verses  in  the  intervals  of  business,  witty  lawyers  in- 
dulged themselves  in  parodies  and  good-natured  lampoons.  Much 
of  all  this  bad  only  a  passing  value,  but  the  possession  of  certain 
gifts  in  the  lines  indicated  marked  out  a  group  of  writers,  most  of 
whom  were  afterward  employed  on  the  Knich  rboeker  Magatmt  (1833) 
under  the  editorship  of  Charles  Fenno  Hoffman  (362)-  They  have 
sometimes  been  known  as  the  Knickerbocker  School,  but  there  was 
hardly  organization  enough  among  them  to  deserve  so  sounding  a 
name.  Moreover,  their  experiments  had  been  tried  some  time  be- 
fore by  Joseph  Dennie  (150)  tnd  his  Mend  Koyal  Tyler,  in  the  /•'/- 
men?  ifvmm  of  tValpole,  N".  H.  (179(5-1790),  and  in  the  Fori 
of  Philadelphia  (1800-1812).  The  greater  success  of  the  Knicker- 
bockers would  seem  to  be  due  rather  to  the  growing  interest  o\'  the 
public  in  literature  than  to  the  superior  merits  of  most  of  their  pro 


WASHINGTON    IRVING.  419 

ductions.  Aside  from  the  crowd  of  writers  who  are  already  forgotten, 
the  names  of  Irving,  Paulding,  Verplanck,  Drake,  and  Halleck 
deserve  somewhat  extended  notice. 

Washington  Irving  (1783-1859),  (178— 185),  was  born  in 
New  York,  not  too  late  to  be  impressed  by  the  natural  beauty 
of  his  native  city,  not  too  late  to  receive  a  smile  and  blessing 
from  Washington  himself.  In  spite  of  these  advantages, 
however,  he  experienced  great  difficulty  in  learning  the 
alphabet,  and  never  took  kindly  to  regular  study.  At  ten 
he  loved  to  read  a  translation  of  Ariosto,  and  throughout 
his  school  days  was  more  faithful  to  Chaucer  and  Spenser 
than  to  arithmetic,  which  he  hated  so  much  that  he  used 
to  write  the  other  boys'  compositions  while  they  did  his 
"  sums."  Later,  his  indifferent  health  and  application  com- 
bined to  keep  him  from  attempting  the  course  of  study  at 
Columbia  College,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  his 
name  as  a  student  in  J.  0.  Hoffman's  law  office.  At  nine- 
teen he  wrote  a  series  of  essays  for  a  paper  called  the  Chron- 
icle, edited  by  his  brother  Peter.  These  papers  discussed 
social  topics,  in  a  light  and  humorous  manner,  over  the 
signature  of  Jonathan  Oldstyle.  In  1804,  Irving  sailed  for 
the  south  of  France  in  search  of  Jiealth.  A  stay  of  two 
years  in  Europe,  loitering  about  in  Italy,  Belgium,  and 
Holland,  was  not  likely  to  increase  his  love  of  legal  pursuits. 
Indeed,  while  at  Rome,  in  the  society  of  Washington  All- 
ston,  he  planned  a  future  devoted  to  art,  but  the  close  of 
the  year  1806  found  him  back  in  America  and  admitted  to 
the  bar.  The  young  lawyer's  first  success  was  not  in  his 
profession,  but  in  the  line  of  his  long-cherished  tastes. 
Salmagundi  was  the  joint  production  of  William  and  Wash- 
ington Irving  and  James  K.  Paulding,  the  elder  Irving 
contributing  the  poetry,  while  the  two  younger  men  wrote 
nearly  all  the  prose.  The  fortnightly  issue  of  this  period- 
ical, and  the  general  tone  of  its  comments,  were  strongly 
suggestive  of  the  Tatler  and  Spectator,  but  the  tales  and 


420  WASHINGTON    IRVING. 

scenes  were  of  Tammany  Hall,  the  Battery,  and  Wall 
Street. 

From  childhood  Irving  had  been  fond  of  wandering  about 
New  York,  learning  every  corner  of  the  quaint  Dutch  city, 
lingering  by  every  bluff  or  knoll  along  the  Hudson  to 
study  its  beauty  or  its  history.  The  school-boy  who  might 
have  learned  more  Greek,  and  the  young  attorney  who 
might  have  been  pettifogging,  were  justified  in  1809  by  the 
publication  of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New 
York.  Everybody  read  it,  and  everybody  laughed — except- 
ing always  the  critic  of  the  London  Quarterly,  who  could 
not  get  "  the  point  of  many  of  the  allusions  in  this  political 
satire."  The  laughter  came  with  a  little  effort,  perhaps, 
from  some  of  the  Knickerbocker  families  who  saw  their 
honored  names  and  customs  thus  satirized;  but  the  deli- 
cate and  kindly  apology  of  the  author  in  his  second  edition 
healed  all  fancied  wounds.  In  1810  his  memoir  of  the  poet 
Campbell  appeared;  three  years  later  he  tried  journalism 
in  Philadelphia,  editing  the  Analectic  Magazine,  to  which 
Paulding  and  Verplanck  both  contributed.  Soon  after  the 
publication  of  the  History  of  Neio  York  he  was  established 
in  Liverpool,  at  liberty  to  indulge  his  taste  for  wandering 
about  in  picturesque  neighborhoods^ 

Meantime  his  fortune  had  been  lost  in  the  business 
reverses  which  followed  the  peace  of  1815,  and  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  set  about  some  work  that  would  yii-ld 
an  income.  He  began  the  Sketch  Book,  sending  the  num- 
bers over  to  New  York  to  be  published  by  Van  Winkle,  in 
octavos  of  from  seventy  to  a  hundred  pages.  The  great 
London  publisher,  Murray,  was  induced  to  buy  the  copy- 
right of  the  entire  work  for  £400.  This  bargain  was 
brought  about  by  the  friendly  mediation  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  an  instance  of  international  courtesy  which  found  a 
later  parallel  in  the  business  relations  of  Carlyle  and  Emer- 
son.    Br aceb ridge  Hall  and  the  Tales  of  a  Traveller  fol- 


IRVING,    PAULDING.  421 

lowed,  for  which  Murray  gave  him  £1,000  and  £1,500 
respectively.  But  they  did  not  arouse  such  enthusiasm  as 
had  hailed  the  fun  of  Knickerbocker  and  the  soberer  fancy 
of  the  Sketch  Book.  Americans  found  nothing  in  the 
studies  of  English  country  life  to  compare  with  Rip  Van 
Winkle  and  the  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  while  English 
critics  openly  accused  him  of  truckling  to  their  national 
vanity  in  his  choice  of  subject,  and  taunted  him  with  the. 
fact  that  Brockden  Brown  had  braved  criticism  and  died 
poor.  The  fault-finding  from  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
seems  to  have  been  overstrained.  The  genius  of  Irving  was 
essentially  appreciative;  his  satire  that  of  the  humorist,  not 
of  the  critic  ;  his  imagination  the  artist's,  not  the  reformer's. 
He  felt  a  generous  admiration  for  all  that  was  noble  and 
beautiful  in  England,  and  he  never  dreamed  of  being  mis- 
understood. 

In  1825,  Irving  was  invited  by  Alexander  H.  Everett, 
American  Minister  at  Madrid,  to  visit  Spain.  A  second  visit, 
in  1827,  resulted  in  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher 
Columbus.  The  Chronicles  of  the  Conquest  of  Granada,  the 
Voyages  of  the  Companions  of  Columbus,  and  the  Alham- 
bra,  followed  close  upon  his  third  tour  in  Spain. 

Seventeen  years  were  thus  spent  in  acquiring  "  a  Euro- 
pean reputation"  and  a  competency.  His  residence  in 
Europe  did  not  render  his  countrymen  unappreciative  of 
his  work,  nor  did  it  impair  his  love  for  his  country.  Upon 
his  return  to  America,  in  1832,  a  public  banquet  was  given 
in  his  honor  in  the  City  Hall  in  New  York,  and  the  occasion 
called  forth  expressions  of  the  national  pride  in  his  success. 
As  he  replied  to  Chancellor  Kent's  address  of  welcome,— 
"I  am  asked,"  he  said,  "how  long  I  mean  to  remain  here, 
They  know  little  of  my  heart  who  can  ask  me  this  question. 
I  answer,  as  long  as  I  live."  This,  however,  was  the  exag- 
geration of  strong  feeling;  for  an  account  of  his  tour 
through  the  West,  appearing   in  1835   in  Crayon  MisceV 


lany,  Astoria,  and  numerous  contributions  to  the  Knick- 
erbocker Magazine,  barely  sufficed  to  occupy  him  until  his 
appointment  as  Minister  to  Spain,  in  1842.  On  his  return 
to  America,  in  1846,  he  fitted  up  his  bachelor  quarters  at 
"  Sunnyside,"  on  the  Hudson,  wrote  his  Life  of  Oliver  Gold- 
smith, aud  was  ready,  in  1850,  to  publish  Mahomet  and  his 
Successors.  Three  months  before  his  death  he  finished  the 
Life  of  Washington.  This  work  was  the  most  laborious  of 
his  life,  being  undertaken  at  an  age  when  most  authors  are 
thinking  of  laying  aside  the  pen.  It  was  accomplished  in 
a  way  that  commands  the  highest  admiration  for  simplicity 
of  style,  proportion  of  parts,  and  unity.  Having  gained 
the  pre-eminent  position  among  American  men  of  letters, 
he  died  on  the  28th  of  November,  1859. 


James  Kirke  Paulding  (1778-1860),  (280-281),  was  a  self- 
made  man,  shrewd  and  patriotic.  His  works  had  the  distinction 
of  being  fiercely  reviewed  by  the  English  Quarterlies.  A  large  part 
of  his  life  was  spent  in  the  United  States  civil  service,  and  he  was 
made  Secretary  of  the  Navy  by  President  Van  Buren.  As  brother- 
in-law  of  William  Irving,  he  was  early  introduced  to  the  literary 
circles  of  New  York.  He  had  a  hand  in  the  composition  of  SaHma- 
gundi;  and  about  the  time  of  the  second  war  with  England  be 
wrote  Tlie  Bulls  and  the  Jonathans,  in  which  he  satirized  the  English 
policy.  The  Dutchman's  Fireside  (1831)  is  the  one  of  all  his  works 
that  retains  most  popularity,  though  his  Life  of  Washington  is  si  ill 
read. 

Gulian  Crommelin  Verplanck  (1786-1870),  (121),  had  Dutch 
pedigree  and  Yankee  wit — a  combination  which  made  it  equally 
natural  for  him  to  lampoon  dignitaries  and  sorrowfully  to  object 
to  the  freedom  which  Washington  Irving  displayed  in  treating  of 
Knickerbocker  traditions. 

Verplanck  entered  Columbia  College  at  eleven  years  of  age,  and 
was  graduated  in  1801.  He  studied  law,  but  disliked  to  practice  his 
profession,  and  devoted  himself  to  Greek,  to  antiquated  reports  of 
law  cases  in  Norman  French,  and  to  reading  Rabelais.    Meantime,  the 


HALLECK,    COOPEE.  423 

young  men  of  his  acquaintance — the  Irvings,  Paulding,  and  Gouver- 
neur  Kernble — amused  themselves  with  literary  pranks  of  all  sorts. 
In  these  Verplanck  never  joined.  His  writings  contain  essays  on  a 
variety  of  subjects,  including  Revealed  Religion,  the  Doctrine  of  Con- 
tracts, Copyr-ight,  and  the  Use  of  Liberal  Studies.  In  1844  he  pub- 
lished an  edition  of  Shakespeare's  Plays.  As  an  editor,  Verplanck 
was  fitted  for  his  task  by  his  wide  scholarship,  careful  judgment, 
and  severe  taste ;  as  a  critic  he  was  perhaps  rather  too  unsympa- 
thetic, but  his  criticism  is  really  an  addition  to  the  literature  of  the 
subject. 

Joseph  Rodman  Drake  (1795-1820),  (344),  experienced  the 
extremes  of  fortune  during  his  short  life  of  twenty-five  years.  He 
was  born  in  New  York,  and  is  known  as  the  friend  of  Halleck, 
Cooper,  and  De  Kay.  He  was  the  author  of  the  Culprit  Fay,  the 
American  Flag,  and  of  satirical  verses  over  the  signature  of 
Croaker. 

Fitz-Greene  Halleck  (345—346).  A  visitor  to  the  Central 
Park  in  New  York  may  notice  the  statue  erected  in  honor  of  this 
poet.  The  prim  figure,  rather  carefully  disposed  in  a  drawing- 
room  chair  over  a  pile  of  volumes  equally  suggestive  of  gift-books 
and  ledgers,  is  a  curious  comment  on  the  man's  life  and  tastes. 
Halleck  was  pre-eminently  the  poet  of  the  town,  versed  in  its 
fashions,  curious  of  its  doings,  and  familiar  enough  with  its  society 
to  be  satirical.  He  was  the  lyric  poet  of  the  group  of  writers  we 
have  been  describing;  loved  them  when  they  were  living,  and  wrote 
sonnets  to  their  memory  when  they  were  dead.  Halleck  was  born 
in  Guilford,  Connecticut,  1795,  but  his  manhood  was  spent  in  New 
York,  keeping  intricate  accounts  for  Jacob  Barker  and  John  Jacob 
Astor.  Besides  his  contributions  to  the  Croakers,  his  best  known 
poems  are  Marco  Bozzaris,  written  for  W.  C.  Bryant's  periodical, 
the  New  York  Review,  and  Fanny.  Halleck's  visit  to  England  in 
1822  was  the  occasion  of  Alnwick  Castle  and  the  poem  on  Burns, 
although  the  latter  appeared  after  his  return  to  America.  On  the 
receipt  of  a  pension  of  two  hundred  dollars  a  year  from  the  will  of 
John  Jacob  Astor,  and  a  liberal  addition  from  his  son,  Wm.  B. 
Astor  in  1849,  the  poet  retired  to  his  birthplace,  and  there  died  in 
1867. 


424  JAMES    FENIMOEE    COOPER. 

The  Knickerbockers  had  used  poetry,  essays,  and  fiction  as  the 
media  of  their  gay  or  caustic  comment  on  the  life  of  the  day,  but 
none  of  them  had  made  any  important  venture  in  a  single  depart- 
ment of  literature.  This  was  reserved  for  another  writer  whose 
'name  is  connected  with  New  York,  and  who  was  attracting  uni- 
versal attention  at  this  time. 


James  Fenimore  Cooper  (1789-1851),  (282—286),  lived 
among  the  stirring  scenes  of  frontier  life  until  he  was  thir- 
teen, when  he  went  to  Yale  College,  where  he  did  not  grad- 
uate. In  1805  he  entered  the  navy  as  midshipman,  and 
remained  in  the  service  six  years.  He  had  left  the  sea, 
however,  and  was  living  in  Mamaroneck,  N.  Y.,  when  a 
chance  boast  that  he  could  write  as  good  a  novel  as  one 
that  he  was  reading  aloud  to  his  wife  led  to  his  first  literary 
attempt.  Precaution  was  the  result,  a  tame  story,  badly 
printed.  It  was  followed  by  The  Spy,  in  1821,  which  drew 
upon  the  author's  vast  storehouse  of  information,  and 
appealed  to  the  public  in  Europe  and  America  by  its 
delineation  of  Washington,  and  Harvey  Birch,  the  Revolu- 
tionary patriot.  The  Pioneers,  published  two  years  later, 
treated  of  the  frontier  life  with  which  Cooper  was  so 
familiar.  The  same  key  was  struck  later  in  Lionel  Lin- 
coln, and  in  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  (1826),  which  is 
considered  one  of  the  best  of  the  series  called  the  Leather- 
stocking  Tales.  TJie  Pilot  (1823)  and  TJie  Red  I 
(1827)  exchanged  the  woods  for  the  ocean  with  no  loss 
of  interest  to  the  reader.  The  Prairie  was  written  in  1827, 
while  the  author  was  in  Europe,  where  he  found  that 
translations  of  his  works  had  everywhere  gained  him 
friends  and  critics.  His  novels  number  thirty-four  in  all, 
most  of  them  being  continuations  or  renewed  treatment  oi 
themes  already  described.  The  last  story  he  wrote,  how- 
ever, The  Ways  of  the  Hour,  was  a  criticism  of  the  method 
of  trial  by  jury.     His  Naval  History  of  the  United  Slates 


JAMES  EENIM0RE  COOPER.        425 

(1839)  cost  him  a  lawsuit  to  defend  his  accuracy  in  describ- 
ing the  battle  of  Lake  Erie. 

It  is  sometimes  urged  that  Cooper  is  never  read  now 
except  by  schoolboys  and  foreigners ;  that  since  a  more 
intimate  acquaintance  has  dispelled  the  belief  that  Indians, 
buffaloes  and  backwoodsmen,  in  equal  parts,  make  up  our 
population,  the  painstaking  and  vigorous  delineation  of 
these  figures  has  ceased  to  interest.  This  may  all  be,  and 
yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  literary  world  is 
Cooper's  debtor  for  a  new  sensation.  Leatherstocking  and 
Long  Tom  Coffin  are  his  invention.  They  may  seem  arti- 
ficial now,  but  they  were  vivid  characters  once,  and  the  most 
superior  of  us  read  their  stories  with  breathless  interest. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

Irving  and  the  Knickerbockers. 

1.  Washington  Irving. 

2.  James  Kirke  Paul  fling. 

3.  Gillian  C.  Verplanck. 

4.  Joseph  Rodman  Drake. 

5.  Fitz- Greene  Halleck. 

6.  James  Fenimore  Cooper. 


CHAPTEH  ¥. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT  AND  THE  EARLY  POETS. 

M  His  poetry  overflows  with  natural  religion— with  what  Wordsworth  calls  4  the 
religion  of  the  woods.'  "—Christopher  North. 

41  The  verses  of  Mr.  Bryant  (the  beet  of  the  American  poets)  come  as  assuredly 
from  the  '  well  of  English  undeflled '  as  the  finer  compositions  of  Mr.  Words- 
worth."— London  Retrospective  Review,  1824. 

"Bryant's  writings  transport  us  into  the  depths  of  the  solemn,  primeval  forest, 
to  the  shores  of  the  lonely  lake,  the  banks  of  the  wild,  nameless  stream,  or  the 
brow  of  the  rocky  upland  rising  like  a  promontory  from  amidst  a  wide  ocean  of 
foliage,  while  they  shed  around  us  the  glories  of  a  climate  fierce  in  its  extremes, 
but  splendid  in  its  vicissitudes."—  Washington  Irving. 

THE  literary  activity  of  Boston  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
the   theological   subjects   which   had  been  first  discussed 
there. 

The  Worth  American  Review  was  established  in  1815  by  the 
Anthology  Club,  under  the  editorship  of  William  Tudor  (17W 
1830),  a  Harvard  graduate,  and  author  of  the  Life  of  James  Otis 
(1823),  and  Oebel  Teir  (1829).  The  latter  is  a  clever  description  of 
the  politics  of  nations,  under  the  allegory  of  a  council  of  birds  on 
a  mountain  in  Africa.  Mr.  Tudor  was  the  author  of  three-fourths 
of  the  first  four  volumes  of  the  North  American. 

Richard  Henry  Dana  (1787-1879),  (329),  a  descendant  of  Anne 
Bradstreet,  was  born  at  Cambridge.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Anthol- 
ogy Club,  and  from  the  first  took  an  interest  in  the  North  Amcriom, 
being  associate  editor  with  his  cousin,  Edward  T.  Chinning,  in 
1818.  He  began  a  periodical  called  The  Idle  Man  in  1824,  but 
stopped  after  the  first  six  numbers,  discouraged  by  lack  of  recog- 
nition. Bryant  and  Washington  Allston  generously  helped  him  in 
his  efforts  to  raise  a  higher  American  standard  of  literary  excellent*. 
The  creative  instinct  in  the  poet  was  not  strong  enough  to  over- 


DANA,    BRYANT.  427 

fcoine  his  sensitiveness  and  reserve.  The  Buccaneer  (328),  a  poem  of 
somber  theme  in  the  ballad  style,  was  published  in  1827,  and  two 
volumes  of  miscellaneous  writings  appeared  in  1850,  comprising  most 
of  his  essays  and  review  articles.  Mr.  Dana  took  an  active  part  in 
the  Unitarian  controversy,  1825-35,  and  delivered  a  course  of  eight 
lectures  on  Shakespeare  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States, 
1  $39-40.    He  has  written  two  novels,  Tom  Thornton  and  Saul  Fenton. 

Various  influences  at  this  time  combined  to  develop  a  number  of 
poets,  who  endeared  themselves  to  the  public  by  their  sentiment  or 
their  patriotism.     They  sprang  up  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

James  Gates  Percival's  The  Coral  Grove  (327),  New  England,  and 
Seneca  Lake  ;  Charles  Sprague's  Shakespeare  Ode,  and  the  poem  on 
Curiosity  (333) ;  the  poems  of  N.  P.  Willis  (364,  365)  and  George 
P.  Morris  (350) ;  the  lyrics  of  E.  C.  Pinkney  (355)  and  C.  F.  Hoff- 
man (362),  have  all  received  merited  admiration.  The  Star  Spangled 
Banner  (323)  was  written  by  Francis  Scott  Key  during  a  short  inh 
prisonment  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  Old  Oaken  Bucket,  by  Samuel 
Woodworth ;  Home,  Sweet  Home,  by  John  Howard  Payne ;  My  Life 
is  like  a  Summer  Bose  (329),  by  R  H.  Wilde ;  and  /  Would  not  Live 
Alway,  by  William  Augustus  Muhlenberg,  keep  alive  the  memory 
of  their  authors  among  the  readers  of  American  lyric  verse. 

William  Cullen  Bryant  (1794-1878),  (337—342).  The 
village  doctor  of  Cummington,  Mass.,  was  the  father  of  a 
precocious  boy  who  wrote  verses  at  nine  years  of  age,  and 
in  his  fifteenth  year  published  a  volume  of  them  in  Boston, 
under  the  title,  The  Embargo;  by  William  Cullen  Bryant. 
The  young  poet  went  to  Williams  College,  but  left  before 
graduating  in  order  to  study  law.  In  the  North  American 
Review  of  September,  1817,  appeared  his  Thanatopsis,  of 
which  an  English  critic  says :  "  Had  Bryant  written  nothing 
else,  this  poem  would  have  embalmed  his  memory.  Words- 
worth has  written  nothing  of  the  same  sort  to  surpass  it." 
TJie  Ages  was  delivered  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society 
in  1821.  The  poet  abandoned  the  law  in  1825,  went  to 
New  York,  edited  successively  the  New  York  Review  and 
Athenaum  Magazine  and  the    United  States  Review  and 


428  WILLIAM    CULLEK    BRYANT. 

Literary  Gazette.  In  these  publications  much  of  his  criti- 
cism and  some  of  his  best  poems  appeared.  Among  them 
were  The  Death  of  the  Flowers,  The  Disinterred  Warrior, 
The  African  Chief,  and  the  Indian  GirVs  Lament.  In  1826 
Bryant  became  connected  with  the  Evening  Post,  in  whose 
columns,  till  the  end  of  his  years,  he  earnestly  advocated 
good  government,  free  trade,  and  a  hearty  support  of  liter- 
ature and  art.  He  varied  his  laborious  days  by  tours  in 
Europe,  the  Southern  States,  and  the  West  Indies.  The 
English  edition  of  Bryant's  poems  in  1832  was  brought 
about  by  the  joint  efforts  of  Verplanck  and  Irving.  Irving 
wrote  a  preface,  and  consented  to  have  his  name  appear  on 
the  title  page  as  the  editor,  although  he  was  at  the  time 
personally  unacquainted  with  Bryant.  Bryant's  transla- 
tion of  the  Iliad  is  due  to  the  generous  importunity  of  his 
brother  poets,  Longfellow  and  Lowell,  who  found  a  fragment 
that  had  appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  Atlantic  so  good  that 
they  strongly  advised  the  undertaking,  serious  as  it  seemed 
to  a  man  of  seventy.  It  was  successfully  finished  in  1869, 
and  was  followed  by  the  Odyssey  in  1871. 

Mr.  Bryant  stands  almost  alone  among  American  authors 
in  the  finish  and  repose  of  his  poetry,  although  the  reader 
has  no  consciousness  of  mechanism,  lie  shows  a  love  of 
nature  so  great  that  it  has  everything  of  passion  except  the 
warmth.  The  poet  made  a  precise  and  pitiless  critic.  He 
has  rendered  substantial  services  to  American  prose  by  re- 
fusing to  countenance  some  of  our  national  sins  against 
rhetoric — notably  those  of  slang  and  exaggeration.  His 
clear,  exact,  and  pure  English  is  appreciated  when  it  is 
compared  with  the  slashing  style  of  other  bard-beset  editors. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  complete  contrast  to  the 
strong,  self-sustained,  and  yet  sensitive  man  just  described,  than  ii 
afforded  by  the  life  and  character  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe  Bom  in 
Baltimore  in  1809,  he  lost  his  parents  while  he  was  a  mere  boy, 


POE,    LONGFELLOW.  429 

and  ever  afterward  displayed  an  unrivaled  power  in  making 
friends,  and  a  fatal  inability  to  keep  them.  The  real  character  of 
Poe  has  come  to  be  almost  as  much  of  a  problem  as  the  identity 
of  the  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask,  but  the  surface  facts  are  singularly 
unfortunate.  A  gambler,  a  drunkard,  sensitive  and  melancholy,  he 
wasted  his  genius  and  threw  away  his  life.  His  first  work,  pub- 
lished in  1829  under  the  title  of  Al  Aaraaf,  Tamerlane,  and  Minor 
Poms,  shows  some  features  that  marked  all  his  later  efforts.  There 
is  an  intricate  machinery  of  words  without  much  thought  to  justify 
it,  a  surfeit  of  sweet  sounds,  which  the  reader  meets  again  in  The 
Raven  (1845),  The  Bells,  and  Annabel  Lee.  His  prose  stories  are  all 
full  of  mysticism.  "Whether  tales  of  metempsychosis,  of  weird 
crime,  of  strange  retribution,  or  of  fantastic  discovery  and  marvelous 
invention,  they  are  well-sustained  extravaganzas,  with  an  undercur- 
rent of  cool  skepticism  that  sometimes  appears  as  a  kind  of  grim 
humor.  Poe's  wonderful  knowledge  of  the  mechanism  of  composi- 
tion ought  to  have  placed  him  among  the  first  of  critics,  but  he  used 
it  only  to  astonish,  or  to  support  some  whimsical  judgment.  The 
Philosophy  of  Composition  is  an  interesting  compendium  of  the  arti- 
ficial subtleties  in  which  this  strange  man  delighted.  He  died  in 
1849. 

LONGFELLOW,   WHITTIER,   HOLMES. 

"  Longfellow,  in  the  Golden  Legend,  has  entered  more  closely  into  the  temper  of 
the  Monk,  for  good  and  for  evil,  than  ever  yet  theological  writer  or  historian 
though  they  may  have  given  their  life's  labor  to  the  analysis."— Buskin. 

*  His  poems  are  of  an  order  to  which  we  have  none  akin.  Germany,  more  than 
England,  has  been  the  source  of  his  inspiration."— London  Metropolitan. 

"  One  of  the  most  pleasing  characteristics  of  this  writer's  works  is  their  intense 
humanity."—  Gilfillan. 

"  Mr  John  Greenleaf  Whittier  is  the  lyrical  poet  par  excellence  of  America,  and  the 
best  of  his  lyrics  have  a  nerve,  swing,  and  fire  which  imparts  to  the  reader  a  share 
of  the  writer's  enthusiasm."— North  British  Beview,  1867. 

"  Holmes,  the  most  cultivated  wit,  if  not  the  chief  humorist,  America  has  ever 
produced."—  Westminster  Bevieto,  1870. 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow  (1807-1882),  (206—369). 
It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  some  American  poets  to  be  more 
admired  than  Longfellow,  to  some,  perhaps,  to   be  more 


430  LONGFELLOW. 

praised,  but  to  none  to  be  better  loved.  His  lyrics  have 
found  their  way  to  homes  and  hearts  the  world  over.  Men, 
women,  and  children  read  his  poetry  because  it  tells,  in 
simple,  direct  fashion,  the  story  of  the  common  experiences 
of  life.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  remember  that  the  man  lived 
what  the  poet  sang,  that  his  courtesy  and  gentle  dignity 
were  the  habits  of  a  lifetime,  and  that  his  own  scholarly 
attainments  never  made  him  exacting  toward  others. 

Longfellow  was  born  in  Portland,  Maine,  "in  an  old, 
square,  wooden  house  upon  the  edge  of  the  sea."  His  mother 
was  a  descendant  of  the  John  Alden  whose  wooing  he  cele- 
brated; his  father's  family  came  from  Hampshire,  Eng- 
land. He  went  to  Bowdoin  College,  where,  in  the  later  years 
of  his  course,  a  few  poems  testify  to  his  love  of  nature  and 
of  legend.  He  was  a  classmate  of  Nathaniel  Hawthorne, 
George  B.  Cheever,  and  J.  S.  C.  Abbott.  Like  most  of  the 
literary  men  of  his  time,  he  intended  to  be  a  lawyer;  but 
the  offer  of  the  professorship  of  modern  languages  in  his 
college,  determined  him  to  go  abroad  and  fit  himself  for  the 
work.  His  stay  covered  two  years.  From  1829  to  1835, 
when  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  Mr.  Ticknor  at  Harvard, 
Longfellow  lectured  to  Bowdoin  students  and  wrote  for 
the  North  American  Review.  Allen  &  Ticknor,  in  1833, 
published  his  first  book,  containing  an  essay  on  the  Moral 
and  Devotional  Poetry  of  Spain,  and  sonic  translations  of 
Lope  de  Vega's  sonnets.  Before  entering  on  his  dut 
Harvard,  Longfellow  paid  another  visit  to  Europe,  lingering 
in  Switzerland  and  Scandinavia.  The  beneficial  effect  of  Euro- 
pean culture  at  this  period  of  the  poet's  development  ha 
questioned;  and  indeed,  if  Ou/rc-Mrr  (1835)  and  fffpertOH 
(1839)  had  been  its  only  outcome,  toe  public  would  have 
reason  for  regret  that  he  ever  left  his  Dative  shores.  These 
two  books,  although  they  were  once  very  popular,  mark  a 
time  when  he  exchanged  sentiment  for  sentimentality,  and 
accepted  mannerism  for  style.     But  the  Voices  of  the  A 


LONG  FELLOW.  431 

also  published  in  1839,  contains  some  of  the  very  best  of  his 
less  pretentious  work — poems  whose  simple  truth  and  nat- 
ural expression  render  them  popular — The  Reaper  and  the 
Flowers,  Woods  in  Winter,  and  The  Psalm  of  Life.  The 
small  volume  of  Ballads,  and  other  Poems,  appeared  in  1841. 
The  poet's  return  from  Europe,  in  1842,  was  marked  by  the 
Poems  on  Slavery,  dedicated  to  Channing.  About  this  time 
Longfellow  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  Dante,  illustrating 
them  by  translations  from  the  work  of  the  great  Italian 
poet.  By  the  end  of  the  year  1846  he  had  published  the 
Spanish  Student,  a  collection  of  translations  called  The 
Poets  of  Europe,  and  The  Belfry  of  Bruges.  The  next  year 
is  marked  by  the  appearance  of  Evangeline,  the  poet's 
favorite  of  all  his  works,  and  the  one  perhaps  that  is  most 
dear  to  the  public,  although  even  it  could  not  succeed  in  the 
mission  of  naturalizing  the  hexameter  among  us.  The  sub- 
ject was  one  suggested  to  Hawthorne  by  a  friend,  but  he 
rejected  it  as  unfit  for  a  story,  and  handed  it  over  to  Long- 
fellow, who  saw  its  possibilities.  Kavanagh,  a  novel  of 
little  power,  and  a  volume  of  poems  called  The  Seaside  and 
the  Fireside,  were  published  in  1849 ;  The  Golden  Legend,  a 
drama,  in  1851.  Hiawatha  (1855)  raised  a  storm  of  enthu- 
siasm and  literary  controversy  as  to  the  cause  of  its  success 
and  its  probable  permanence.  Longfellow  called  the  poem 
"An  Indian  Edda;"  the  scene  was  among  the  Ojibways, 
near  Lake  Superior;  the  meter  is  rhymeless  trochaic  te- 
trameter. Dr.  0.  W.  Holmes  has  given  an  ingenious  expla- 
nation of  the  popularity  of  this  meter  on  physiological 
grounds.  The  European  critics  attribute  its  success  to  the 
fact  of  its  being  modified  from  the  common  Finnish  meas- 
ure. The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish  was  another  success- 
ful essay  in  hexameter,  followed  by  T7ie  Tales  of  a  Wayside 
Inn,  a  collection  of  poems  on  various  subjects ;  The  New 
England  Tragedies,  The  Divine  Tragedy,  and  The  Hanging 
of  the  Crane  (1874). 


432  LONGFELLOW,    WHIT  TIER. 

Mr.  Longfellow  had  resigned  his  professorship  in  1854. 
He  continued  his  residence  in  the  "  Craigie  House,"  famous 
as  the  headquarters  of  Washington  in  Cambridge.  There 
he  was,  as  he  says,  "too  happy,"  and  there,  in  1861,  the 
tragedy  of  his  life  occurred.  His  wife's  dress  caught  fire  as 
she  sat  among  her  children,  and  she  was  burned  to  death. 
The  translation  of  the  Divine  Comedy  of  Dante  (1867)  was 
the  poet's  refuge  in  his  sorrow.  It  is  extremely  literal,  and 
has  been  both  praised  and  blamed  on  that  account.  The 
closing  years  of  Longfellow's  life  were  rich  in  friendship 
and  success,  but  there  is  an  increasing  seriousness  in  all  his 
work.  The  poem,  Morituri  Salutamns,  which  he  read  at 
the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  graduation  at  Bowdoin,  is 
weighty  with  feeling.  In  1880  came  Ultima  Thule  ;  in  1881 
a  sonnet  on  the  death  of  President  Garfield.  Hermes  Tris- 
megistus  was  his  last  poem.  He  died  in  1882,  and  was 
buried  near  the  "three  friends" — Charles  Sumner,  Louis 
Agassiz,  and  Cornelius  Felton — whom  he  had  loved  so 
dearly  and  mourned  so  sincerely.  England  has  honored  his 
genius  by  giving  his  bust  a  place  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier  (371—374) •  The  symmetry  of  Long- 
fellow's life  and  genius  forms  a  strong  contrast  to  the  somewhat 
strait  limits  of  Whittier's  culture.  The  poetic  taste  that  lived  for 
eighteen  years  in  the  "  sjjells "  of  farm  work,  shoemaking,  and 
u  schooling"  that  made  up  his  life  in  a  New  England  village — the 
fancy  that  found  play  in  Quaker  history  and  Indian  superstition — 
had  need  to  be  strong  as  well  as  peculiar.  Whittier  was  a  charac- 
teristic product  of  New  England  influences,  and  lie  has  been  their 
worthiest  poet.  Upright,  patriotic  and  talented,  the  man  has  had  the 
rare  fortune  of  remaining  unsophisticated  in  life,  manners,  and 
verse.  He  was  born  in  1807,  of  Quaker  parentage,  in  Haverhill, 
Mass.  His  literary  career  began  with  j<  urnalism  in  Boston  in  isj'.i, 
and  was  continued  in  Hartford,  Haverhill,  Philadelphia,  and  AN'ash- 
ington  until  1847.  His  early  poems,  Mogg  Megone  (1836)  and  tin 
Burial  of  Pen nacook,  are  Indian  stories  derived  from  early  colonial 
records,  and  adorned  with  some  of  Whittier's  most  beautiful  de- 


WHITTIER,      HOLMES.  #        433 

scriptions  of  scenery.  From  the  very  first  he  was  an  outspoken 
and  ardent  supporter  of  the  anti-slavery  movement.  The  signing 
of  his  name  to  the  Anti-slavery  Declaration  in  1833  seems  to  have 
been  a  kind  of  dedication  of  his  muse  to  the  cause  which  he  believed 
inseparable  from  justice  and  humanity.  Until  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War  he  was  busy  in  writing  and  publishing  in  newspapers, 
magazines,  and  books  the  series  of  stirring  lyrics  and  moral  denun- 
ciations whose  titles  tell  their  own  story:  Voices  of  Freedom  (1841), 
The  Panorama,  and  other  Poems  (1856),  In  War-Time  (1863).  The 
inspiration  of  his  poetry  since  the  war  has  been  the  beauty  of  New 
England's  scenery,  the  sober  charm  of  her  rural  life.  Snow- Bound 
(1865)  is  a  masterpiece.  It  wras  followed  by  The  Tent  on  the  Beach 
(1867),  Among  the  Bills,  Miriam,  and  a  number  of  other  slight 
poems,  all  showing  the  author's  purity  of  spirit  and  lyric  grace. 
Mr.  Whittier  has  also  published  two  volumes  of  his  collected  prose 
writings,  besides  editing  John  Woolman's  Journal. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  (211 — 214)  was  born  in  Cambridge  in 
1809.  After  being  graduated  at  Harvard  he  tried  the  law  for  a  year, 
during  which  time  he  wrote  more  for  the  Collegian  than  in  any  note- 
book on  Kent  or  Blackstone;  finally,  he  adopted  medicine  as  a 
profession,  and  went  to  Europe  to  study  in  Paris.  In  1836  he  re- 
turned to  America  after  an  absence  of  nearly  three  years,  took  his 
degree  at  Cambridge,  recited  Poetry,  a  Metrical  Essay,  before  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society,  and  published  his  first  book  of  poems.  Old 
Ironsides  is  a  fair  specimen  of  Dr.  Holmes's  lyric  power,  but  his 
prevailing  characteristic  is  a  deftness  of  touch  that  produces  sudden 
exchanges  of  pathos  and  humor  under  the  reader's  very  eyes.  He 
is  a  sworn  foe  of  all  morbid  sentimentality  and  pretence.  The 
Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table  wTas  written  in  1857  for  the  opening 
numbers  of  The  Atlantic  Monthly,  to  whose  success  it  undoubtedly 
contributed  very  much.  The  wit,  satire,  and  sentiment  of  these 
original  colloquies  gained  for  them  an  immediate  and  lasting  popu- 
larity. The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table  was  followed  by  the 
Poet  in  1872,  and  still  the  readers  of  the  Atlantic  showed  no  signs 
of  weariness.  The  medical  studies  and  Puritan  antecedents  of  Dr. 
Holmes  were  not  without  a  strong  influence  on  his  inquisitive  mind. 
Two  powerful  works  testify  to  the  interest  their  author  took  in 
subjects  that  few  pens  could  have  treated  so  healthfully.    Elsti 


434  #  HOLMES,    CART,    CRANCH. 

Venner  (1860)  is  the  dramatic  statement  of  the  problem  growing 
out  of  a  personality  hampered  and  yet  preserved  by  pre-natal 
influences.  The  Guardian  Angel  (1867)  is  one  of  the  most  healthful 
and  characteristic  of  American  novels.  The  public  is  also  indebted 
to  Dr.  Holmes  for  a  biography  of  the  historian  Motley. 

Holmes  has  been  called  the  poet  laureate  of  America.  As  a 
lecturer,  after-dinner  speaker,  and  companion,  he  is  unrivaled 
among  men  of  letters.  He  is  a  rare  instance  of  a  character  whose 
business  seems  always  to  be  his  pleasure.  He  lives  during  part 
of  the  year  in  Boston  ;  during  the  remainder  at  Pittsfield,  on  what 
he  characteristically  calls  "the  remnant  of  twenty-five  thousand 
ancestral  acres."' 

A  number  of  our  genuine  poets  have  written  very  modestly  or 
sparingly,  relying,  apparently  for  recognition  on  the  genuineness  of 
their  poetical  sentiment.  Their  work  extends  over  three  or  four 
decades.  The  first  volume  of  poems  by  Alice  and  Phoebe  Cary 
was  published  in  1856,  when  one  was  thirty  and  the  other 
twenty-six  years  old.  The  sisters  gained  respect  and  admiration 
for  their  dignity  of  character  as  well  as  for  the  patient  industry 
and  careful  workmanship  of  their  lyrics  and  prose  articles.  Their 
authorship  extended  over  a  period  of  twenty  years,  and  filled  sev- 
eral volumes.  Edgar  Allan  Poe  has  testified  to  the  musical  perfec- 
tion of  Alice's  Pictures  of  Memory,  and  Mr.  Whittier  gives  his 
impressions  of  the  author  in  a  poem  called  The  Singer.  Alice  Cary 
died  in  1870;  Phoebe  in  187L 

Christopher  Pearse  Cranch  (born  1813)  began  his  preparation 
for  the  business  of  life  in  the  Harvard  divinity  school,  but,  in  1842, 
devoted  himself  to  landscape  painting  and  poetry.  From  1846  to 
1863  he  was  in  Europe  most  of  the  time,  where  he  was  successful  In 
his  chosen  art.  He  has,  however,  published  both  prose  and  poetry 
from  time  to  time.  In  1854  a  volume  of  his  poems  appeared;  in 
1856  and  1857  The  Dint  of  ilu  Bmggermuggen  and  Kobotom,  illus- 
trated stories  for  children;  and  in  1872  a  blank  verse  translation 
of  the  iEneid  was  published. 

William  Wetmore  Story,  bom  In  Salem,  Mass.  (1810),  has  filled 
his  days  with  the  varied  work  of  lawyer,  sculptor,  and  poet.     His 


STORY,    PIATT,    LAKIER.  435 

first  volume  of  poems  appeared  in  1847 ;  his  second  in  1856.  Readers 
of  the  Atlantic  remember  his  charming  sketches  under  the  title  Roba 
di  Roma.  A  Roman  Lawyer  (1870)  is  a  plea  for  Judas,  as  the  mis- 
guided religious  enthusiast  instead  of  the  sordid  betrayer  of  Christ. 
A  play  called  Nero  was  published  in  1875.  Mr.  Story's  latest  contri- 
bution to  literature  is  an  artistic  little  brochure  entitled  i&  and  She; 
or,  An  Artist1  s  Portfolio,  made  up  of  exquisite  poems  connected  by 
graphic  prose. 

John  James  Piatt  (born  1835),  and  his  wife,  Sarah  Morgan 
Bryan  Piatt  (born  1836),  may  both  be  termed  poets  of  tempera- 
ment. In  a  stanza  or  two  they  succeed  in  giving  an  impression  of 
exquisite  delicacy  and  perfection.  Mr.  Piatt  published,  in  1860, 
with  W.  D.  Howells,  Poems  of  Two  Friends ;  and  in  1864,  with  his 
wife,  The  Nests  at  Washington.  Other  volumes  of  his  are  Poems  in 
Sunshine  and  Twilight,  Western  Windows  and  Landmarks  (1871). 
Mrs.  Piatt  has  published  A  Woman's  Poems  and  A  Voyage  to  thi 
Fortunate  Isles.  There  is  a  melancholy  about  her  sentiment  that 
sometimes  amounts  to  gloom. 

Sidney  Lanier  was  born  in  Macon,  Ga.,  1842,  but  spent  most  of 
his  life  in  Baltimore.  In  1872  he  was  appointed  lecturer  on  Eng- 
lish Literature  for  the  Johns  Hopkins  University.  In  1875  he  pub- 
lished Florida,  a  prose  work ;  and  in  1876  claimed  the  hearing  of 
the  whole  country  by  his  cantata,  From  this  Hundred-terraced 
Height,  sung  at  the  opening  of  the  Centennial  Exposition.  He  also 
published  in  this  year  a  small  volume  of  poems  of  marked  origi- 
nality. They  were  not  always  either  clear  or  musical  to  ears  un- 
trained  in   complicated  verse,  but   they  were   often  wonderfully 

graceful,  tender,  and  heroic.     The  Stirrup  Gup  and  To ,  with  a 

Rose,  are  examples  of  his  simpler  poems.  The  Science  of  English 
Verse  (1880),  and  The  Theory  of  the  English  Novel  (1883),  are  crit- 
ical works  of  decided  merit  and  interest.  In  1881  Mr.  Lanier  died 
of  consumption,  from  which  he  had  suffered  many  years. 


Iii  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 

1.  Dana,  Bryant,  and  their  Contemporaries, 

2.  Longfellow,  Whittler,  Holmes. 

3.  Minor  American  Poets, 


CHAPTEB    ¥1. 

NATHANIEL   HAWTHORNE  AND    MINOR    NOVELISTS. 

"  Mr.  Hawthorne's  difficulty  seems  to  have  been  to  find  in  the  va8t  human  work- 
shop of  America  a  frame  sufficiently  picturesque  for  the  reception  of  his  richly 
colored  pictures."— London  Times. 

"  The  supernatural  here  never  becomes  grossly  palpable ;  the  thrill  is  all  the 
deeper  for  its  action  being  indefinite  and  its  source  vague  and  distant."— London 
Athenceum,  1850. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  deny  the  gift  of  '  poetic  insight  •  to  this  mixture  of 
admirable  detail  with  something  at  once  hightr  and  deeper.*'— Miss  Mitford. 

NATHANIEL  HAWTHOKNE  (1804-1864),  (296— 
302).  The  delicate  health  or  inherited  morbid  dis- 
position of  Hawthorne  will  not  alone  explain  the  curious 
mental  bias  that  makes  all  his  psychological  narratives  turn 
on  the  pivot  of  conscience  and  its  natural  or  perverted  action. 
Joined  with  his  analytical  insight  is  a  command  of  all  that 
is  quaint,  delicate,  and  suggestive  in  the  English  tongue. 
The  result  is  a  literary  talent  unusually  limited  in  its  range, 
but  wonderfully  perfect  in  its  expression. 

Hawthorne  was  born  in  Salem  in  1804.  He  was  gradu- 
ated at  Bowdoin  with  Longfellow,  and  was  the  intimate 
friend  of  Franklin  Pierce.  His  life  after  leaving  college  was 
one  of  seclusion,  the  beginning  of  hermit-like  habits  that 
lasted  all  his  days.  Fanshawe  (1828)  has  attracted  consid- 
erable attention  since  Hawthorne's  death,  although  he  never 
acknowledged  its  authorship.  His  efforts  to  make  literature 
pay  were  always  pathetic  instances  of  disproportion  between 
the  quality  of  supply  and  demand,  but  the  publication,  in 
1837,  of  some  early  stories  under  the  title  of  Twice  Told 
Tales  called  out  the  hearty  praise  of  Longfellow  in   the 


NATHANIEL    HAWTHORNE.  437 

North  American  Review.  While  the  public  was  deciding 
whether  it  approved  of  this  somber  playfulness  of  style,  Ban- 
croft, then  Collector  of  the  Port,  gave  the  struggling  author 
a  place  in  the  Boston  custom-house.  About  this  time  he 
joined  the  group  of  men  and  women  who  were  testing  their 
sociological  theories  at  Brook  Farm.  He  seems  to  have  been 
in  the  life,  but  hardly  more  of  it  than  when  his  abiding  place 
was  in  Salem  or  Boston.  The  Blithedale  Romance  (1852), 
(298),  was  the  comment  that  his  genius  made  upon  the  experi- 
ment, and  upon  his  own  lack  of  sympathy  with  the  principles 
involved.  Hawthorne  had  been  living  for  three  years  in  his 
favorite  residence,  the  Old  Manse,  at  Concord,  when,  in  1846, 
Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse  appeared,  a  title  given  to  a  col- 
lection of  papers  republished  from  various  magazines.  In 
the  same  year  the  return  of  his  friends  to  political  power 
secured  his  appointment  as  surveyor  of  the  custom-house  in 
Salem.  The  Scarlet  Letter  was  published  in  1850,  and 
found  for  its  author  an  appreciative  audience.  The  book  is 
a  study  of  fiery  passions  outlined  against  a  background  of 
New  England  Puritanism.  There  is  something  fantastic  in 
its  realism ;  nature  seems  to  become  dramatic  in  the  over- 
strained emotion.  Meantime  Hawthorne  had  moved  to 
Lenox,  where  he  wrote  (1851)  Tlie  House  of  the  Seven  Gables, 
another  novel  of  somber  theme,  where  the  gloom  of  ancient 
wrong  and  hereditary  crime  is  brightened  by  occasional 
glimpses  of  youth,  beauty,  and  happiness.  In  1852  Hawthorne 
was  busy  with  a  third  series  of  Twice  Told  Tales  and  with 
the  biography  of  Franklin  Pierce,  written  when  the  latter 
was  nominated  for  President.  On  the  election  of  Pierce,  in 
1853,  Hawthorne  was  given  the  position  of  consul  to  Liver- 
pool. The  seven  years  which  he  spent  in  Europe  were  rich 
in  enjoyment  and  in  observation.  The  Marble  Faun  (299) 
was  the  only  work  of  any  compass  that  seems  to  have  had 
its  inspiration  there.  He  returned  to  America  in  1860. 
Hawthorne's  life  had  never  been  radiant,  but  from  this  time 


438         HAWTHORNE,    CURTIS,    MITCHELL. 

it  was  under  a  heavy  cloud.  His  country  was  plunged  in 
civil  war,  and  he  had  no  heart  for  the  desperate  measures  of 
the  time.  In  vain  he  tried  to  interest  himself  in  literary 
work  ;  he  never  finished  any  of  his  undertakings  after  Our 
Old  Home  (1803),  dedicated,  with  stubborn  loyalty,  to  Mr. 
Pierce.  Septimius  Felton,  The  Dolliver  Romance,  TJie  An- 
cestral Footstep,  and  Dr.  Grimshawe's  Secret,  are  more  or 
less  complete  fragments  or  studies  found  among  his  papers 
after  his  death  in  1864.  TJieir  publication  has  been  of  in- 
terest chiefly  as  showing  the  process  by  which  his  stories 
took  shape  in  his  mind. 

The  works  of  Hawthorne  stand  alone  in  American  litera- 
ture. Nowhere  else  is  to  be  found  such  moral  power  com- 
bined with  an  artistic  finish  so  perfect.  His  province  was 
narrow,  but  within  its  limits  he  was  master. 

Although  Hawthorne  stands  without  a  peer  in  his  own 
line,  a  host  of  contemporary  or  nearly  contemporary  writers 
published  novels  which  won  popular  favor. 

First  among  these  is  George  William  Curtis,  born  in  1824,  the 
author  of  Trumps,  The  Potiplmr  Papers,  Prue  and  I,  and  short  stories 
for  Putnam's  Magazine.  Mr.  Curtis  has  been  a  successful  lecturer 
and  editor  for  nearly  thirty  years,  having  been  the  political  spokes 
man  of  Harper's  Weekly  since  1863.  He  made  this  paper  a  powerful 
ally  of  the  Republican  party  during  the  war  between  the  States, 
and  ever  since  has  been  prominent  as  an  advocate  of  Civil  Service 
Reform  (243). 

Donald  Grant  Mitchell  was  born  in  Norwich,  Conn.   (1822). 
After  his  graduation  at  Yale  he  went  to  Europe,  where  he  rambled 
about  on  foot  and  wrote  letters  for  the  AUmny  CulUmtm:    He  has 
written  The  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor,  Bream  Life,  and  Boctor 
besides  essays  on  rural  and  literary  subjects  (239-) 

Mrs.  Lydia  Maria  Child  (1802-1881),  a  woman  of  earnest  and 
beautiful  character,  while  she  was  still  Miss  Francis,  published  her 
first  story,  Hobomok  (1824).     The  Rivals  next  appeared.    In  1826  she 


LYDlA    MARIA    CHILD.  439 

was  married,  and  for  some  time  confined  her  attention  to  juvenile 
and  dramatic  literature.  Her  Appeal  in  Behalf  of  that  Class  of 
Americans  called  Africans  was  one  of  the  earliest  anti-slavery  booka 
In  1836  she  published  Philothea,  a  Grecian  romance  of  the  time  of 
Pericles.  She  was  editor  of  the  National  Anti- Slavery  Standard 
for  two  years.    In  1855  she  published  the  Progress  of  Religious  Ideas 

(294). 

William  Ware  wrote  historical  novels — Aurelian  (293),  Julian* 
Zenobia.  W.  G.  Simms  (303,  304),  J.  E.  Cook  (311),  and  J.  P. 
Kennedy  (290—292),  have  treated  various  phases  of  American  life. 
The  series  of  novels  written  by  the  Warner  sisters  is  still  read  and 
cried  over  by  the  sentimental.  Sara  J.  Lippincott  (Grace  Green- 
wood) (245),  Mrs.  James  Parton  (Fanny  Fern),  and  Miss  C.  M. 
Sedgwick,  well  known  to  the  readers  of  thirty  years  ago,  have 
written  novels  and  prose  sketches  of  the  lighter  order. 


Iii  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 

1.  Nathaniel  Hawthorne, 

2.  George  William  Curtis. 

3.  Donald  G.  Mitchell. 

4.  Mrs.  Lydia  Maria  Child.         % 

5.  Minor  Novelists. 


CHAPTER    ?H. 

JAMES    RUSSELL   LOWELL  AND   THE   HISTORIANS. 

"Lowell's  genius  everywhere  appears  in  contrast  to  Bryant's.  Far  from  shrink- 
ing into  solitary  places,  he  loves  great  cities  and  their  cries,  and  sets  them  to  rnym« 
with  hearty  good-will."— North  British  Review,  1867. 

"  Lowell,  in  whom  the  youthful  fun  and  freshness  of  the  nation  seems  typified. "— 
Westminster  Review,  1870. 

"  There  is  Lowell,  who's  striving  Parnassus  to  climb 
With  a  whole  bale  of  isms  tied  together  with  rhyme." 

Fable  for  Critics. 

TAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL  (217—220,  380—382). 
*J  It  is  difficult  to  characterize  this  poet,  or  to  do  justice 
to  his  work  in  its  various  departments.  His  prose  lacks 
the  charm  of  Hawthorne  and  the  neatness  of  Holmes ;  in 
poetry  he  is  not  a  Druid  like  Bryant,  nor  a  preacher  like 
Whittier.  The  apparent  ease  of  his  verse  has  not  made 
him  profuse.  Ne#rtheless,  any  accusation  of  indolence  or 
lack  of  moral  purpose  seems  unjust,  when  we  remember 
that  Mr.  Lowell  has  been,  for  nearly  forty  years,  critic,  poet, 
teacher,  editor,  and  man  of  affairs.  It  has  been  said  that 
he  might  have  achieved  greatness  in  any  one  of  these 
lines  if  he  had  shut  himself  up  and  given  bis  mind  lu  it ; 
but  such  criticism  is  offset  by  the  fact  that  these  partial 
successes  have  enriched  the  mass  of  people,  while  consum- 
mate skill  in  one  line  would  have  satisfied  only  the  critics. 
In  short,  where  other  men  of  letters  have  represented  this 
or  that  theory  or  sentiment  or  "section,"  Mr.  Lowell  has 
been  broadly  American,  and  as  long  as  we  are  interesting  to 
ourselves  or  to  other  nations  his  works  will  have  readers. 


JAMES    RUSSELL    LOWELL.  441 

The  pathos,  the  fun,  the  mimicry,  the  sensitiveness,  the 
boastfulness,  the  stern  justice,  the  many-sided  facility  of 
our  national  character,  find  alternate  sympathy  or  criticism, 
but  always  a  mirror,  in  Mr.  Lowell's  pages.  To  our  shame 
be  it  said  that  foreigners  have  sometimes  understood  and 
appreciated  him  better  than  his  own  countrymen. 

It  has  been  urged  that  Mr.  Lowell  was  born  too  late; 
that  Boston,  in  the  year  1819,  was  already  too  far  advanced 
to  give  the  bracing  atmosphere  necessary  for  his  develop- 
ment. He  had  the  misfortune,  too,  of  being  some  years 
younger  than  Tennyson,  and  of  reading  his  English  con- 
temporary instead  of  forming  himself  on  classic  models. 
Mr.  Lowell  has  judged  himself  as  severely  as  his  critics  have 
done,  has  winnowed  his  early  poems,  and  written  but  spar- 
ingly in  later  years.  The  work  of  the  law  office  opened  by 
him  in  1840,  and  very  soon  closed,  was  succeeded  by  labors 
equally  exhausting  though  more  congenial.  In  1843,  with 
Neal,  Hawthorne,  Poe,  and  Parsons  for  helpers,  he  began  the 
task  of  editing  The  Pioneer  ;  but  his  literary  standard  was 
high,  and  only  three  numbers  were  published.  His  first  col- 
lection of  poems,  A  Year's  Life  (1841),  was  followed  in  1844 
by  The  Legend  of  Brittany,  Miscellaneous  Poems  and 
Somiets.  Already  Mr.  Lowell  had  announced  his  anti- 
slavery  views,  and  had  allied  himself  with  Wendell  Phillips 
and  other  agitators.  A  series  of  Conversations  on  the  Old 
Poets  was  the  result  of  an  attempt  to  interest  the  public  in 
English  literature,  but  the  criticism  was  very  much  ham- 
pered by  the  dialogue,  and  the  work  was  never  popular. 
The  Present  Crisis,  whose  verses  throb  with  patriotism  and 
with  hatred  of  oppression,  was  printed  in  a  volume  of  poems 
in  1848.  Tlie  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,  A  Fable  for  Critics, 
and  The  Biglow  Papers,  appeared  in  the  same  year.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  most  sustained  of  the  author's  works, 
and  contains  exquisite  descriptions  and  poetical  fancies  ;  the 
Fable  for  Critics  comments  shrewdly  on  the  literary  char- 


442  JAMES    HtJSSELL    LOWELL. 

acters  of  the  day ;  the  Biglow  Papers  is  a  dramatic  repro- 
duction of  thought  and  dialect  in  New  England.  The 
Mexican  war  and  the  extension  of  slavery  are  the  principal 
themes  touched  by  its  keen  satire.  In  1855,  Mr.  Lowell  was 
appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Longfellow  in  the  professorship  of 
Polite  Letters  at  Harvard.  He  accepted  the  position,  and 
at  once  went  abroad  for  special  study.  After  his  return  he 
seems  to  have  devoted  himself  very  persistently  to  the  duties 
of  his  chair.  In  1867  the  second  series  of  the  Biglow  Papers 
appeared,  followed,  in  1869,  by  a  collection  of  poems  entitled 
Under  the  Willoivs.  Tfie  Commemoration  Ode,  recited  in 
Cambridge,  in  1865,  in  honor  of#the  Harvard  alumni  who  fell 
during  the  Civil  War,  is  full  of  elevated  feeling,  and  contains 
a  noble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  President  Lincoln.  Mr. 
Lowell  was  editor  of  The  Atlantic  Monthly  from  its  founda- 
tion in  1857  till  1862 ;  his  editorial  connection  with  the  North 
American  Review  extended  from  1863  to  1872.  In  theso 
magazines  were  printed  many  of  the  articles  that  make  up 
the  volumes  entitled  Among  my  Books  (in  two  series)  and 
My  Study  Windows.  Mr.  Lowell  now  represents  our  gov- 
ernment at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  where  his  success  and 
popularity  are  very  great. 


Political  and  Historical  Literature-    The  political  element  in 

American  life  has  had  definite  representation  in  the  work  of  nearly 
every  writer  of  this  period  ;  its  more  exclusive  development,  how- 
ever, is  to  be  found  in  the  speeches  of  orators  and  in  the  work  of 
historians,  whether  they  have  been  occupied  with  the  United 
States,  the  Western  Continent,  or  the  development  of  liberty  in 
Europe. 

The  subjects  of  tariff  and  slavery  have  been  set  forth,  in  Oosgreee 
and  on  the  lecture  platform,  by  Webster  (85—88),  Cloy  (80,  81), 
Calhoun  (82—84),  Choate  (92),  Edward  Everett  (190—192), 
Garrison,  Sumner  (96 — 99>   Micl  Seward  (94). 

The  historical  labors  of  American  men  of  letters  wen-  foreshad- 
owed by  the  colonial  records  and  by  the  historical  societies  of  our 


POLITICAL    LITERATURE.  443 

first  half  century  of  national  existence.  Much  of  what  was  dona 
possesses  little  or  no  artistic  merit,  but  is  most  helpful  to  the  later 
historians.  Our  colonial  period  has  been  exhaustively  treated  by 
Francis  Parkman  (145),  who  has  published  five  parts  of  a  work  on 
France  and  England  in  North  America.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  has 
written  A  Short  History  of  the  English  Colonies  in  America  (1881). 
Its  last  three  chapters  are  of  special  interest  to  the  student  of 
American  literature.  The  men  and  times  of  the  Revolution  have 
been  studied  by  George  W.  Greene  (108),  Dr.  Benson  J.  Lossing,  and 
Dr.  Jared  Sparks  (124).  Dr.  Sparks  published  (1834-40)  editions 
of  the  writings  of  Washington  and  Franklin,  containing  careful 
biographies.  In  1830  his  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  American 
Revolution  appeared. 

The  Civil  War  called  forth  Horace  Greeley's  American  Conflict 
(1864),  an  animated  account  of  the  struggle  in  which  he,  as  editor 
of  the  New  York  Tribune  and  an  ardent  supporter  of  anti-slavery 
principles,  was  deeply  interested  (164—167)-  The  War  between  the 
States,  written  by  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  recounts  the  Southern 
view  of  the  same  questions  (100).  Dr.  John  W.  Draper  (215—216), 
and  Vice-President  Wilson,  have  also  contributed  to  this  branch  of 
literature. 

Kirk's  history  of  Charles  the  Bold,  Eliot's  History  of  Liberty,  and 
the  popular  histories  of  Jacob  and  John  S.  C.  Abbott,  fairly  repre- 
sent our  labor  in  foreign  fields. 

James  Kent's  Commentaries  on  American  Law  (76),  Henry  Whea- 
tons  International  Law,  Dr.  Woolsey's  works  on  international 
and  political  science  (161),  and  Henry  C.  Carey's  efforts  in  favor  of 
Protection  (155),  are  the  best  known  of  a  large  class  of  books 
written  in  the  interest  of  justice  and  material  welfare. 

Curiously  enough,  the  group  of  men  who  have  reached  the  high- 
est distinction  in  this  line  of  work  are  all  from  Massachusetts.  The 
History  of  New  England  (1858),  (149),  was  by  John  G.  Palfrey 
(1796-1881),  a  Bostonian,  a  professor  at  Harvard,  the  editor  of  the 
North  American  Review  (1835-1843),  a  leader  of  the  Free-Soil  party, 
and,  as  one  of  his  friends  has  expressed  it,  "  an  example  of  the 
accomplished  Christian  lawyer." 

Richard  Hildreth  (1807-1865)  made  his  way  to  the  authorship 


444  BANCROFT,    MOTLEY. 

of  a  successful  History  of  the  United  States  through  practice  in  othef 
branches  of  literature.  Having  graduated  from  Harvard  at  nine- 
teen, he  studied  law,  wrote  newspaper  articles  on  the  annexation 
of  Texas,  a  History  of  Banks  (1840),  and  an  anti-slavery  novel  called 
\Archy  Moore,  which  was  republished  in  England. 
'  His  Theory  of  Morals  (1844),  and  the  Theory  of  Politics  (1853); 
embody  an  attitude  similar  to  that  of  Jeremy  Bentham.  The  first 
volume  of  the  History  of  the  United  States  appeared  in  1849,  the  last, 
three  years  later.  Mr.  Hildreth  was  remarkable  for  his  power  of 
long-continued  mental  application. 

George  Bancroft  (129—133)  was  born  with  the  century.  He 
graduated  from  Harvard  in  1817,  aud  continued  his  studies  in 
Europe.  As  a  prominent  member  of  the  Democratic  party,  he 
received  the  position  of  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Boston  (1838),  was 
made  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  1845,  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  England  (1846-1849).  His  History  of  the  United  States  is  not 
only  his  most  important  work,  but  is  the  best  that  has  been  written 
on  the  subject.  The  first  volume  appeared  in  1834,  the  twelfth  in 
1882.  The  style  is  clear  and  picturesque,  all  events  being  treated 
in  the  light  of  the  philosophical  development  of  certain  principles 
inherent  in  the  character  and  conditions  of  the  early  colonists. 

John  Lothrop  Motley  (1814-1877)  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1831,  studied  in  Gottingen  and  Berlin,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1836.  He  wrote  two  unsuccessful  novels,  Morton's  Hope  and 
Merry  Mount;  but  in  1846  he  had  definitely  addressed  himself  to 
the  task  of  writing  a  history  of  Holland.  He  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  materials  at  his  command  in  America,  and  in  1851  sailed 
for  Europe  with  his  family.  Tlie  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic  ( 1856) 
was  the  result  of  his  studies  in  Berlin,  Dresden,  and  The  Hague. 
It  was  received  with  enthusiasm  in  Europe  as  well  as  in  America; 
was  translated  into  Dutch,  German,  French,  rod  IJussian. 

The  History  of  the  United  Netherlands  appeared  between  1861 
and  1868,  and  the  Life  of  John  of  liarnn;U  in  1874. 

Motley's  histories  have  the  interest  of  thrilling  narration.  He 
was  Minister  to  Austria  from  1861  until  nil  resignation  in  1867.  and 
was  appointed  to  represent  America  at  the  English  Court  in  1869 
(139-141). 


WILLIAM    HICKLING    PRESCOTT.  445 

William  Hickling  Prescott  (1796-1859)  was  one  of  the  oldest, 
and  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable,  of  American  historians. 
He  was  a  junior  at  Harvard  in  1813,  when  an  accident  put  out  one 
of  his  eyes  and  seriously  injured  the  other.  Thenceforth  he  was 
obliged  to  regulate  the  activity  of  his  life  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  this  infirmity.  He  determined  to  be  an  historian, 
undertook  a  vast  and  varied  amount  of  study,  and  carried  it 
through  successfully  with  the  help  of  secretaries.  In  1838,  after 
nearly  ten  years  of  labor,  he  had  written  the  history  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella.  It  was  at  once  translated  into  Spanish,  Italian,  and 
German.  The  Conquest  of  Mexico  (1843),  The  Conquest  of  Peru  (1847), 
and  Philip  the  Second  (1855-1858),  have  fully  sustained  the  interest 
roused  by  his  first  attempt.  Mr.  Prescott  also  published,  in  1849, 
&  volume  of  Critical  and  Historical  Miscellanies  (126 — 128). 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered : — 

1.  James  Russell  Lowell, 

2.  Political  and  Historical  Literature. 

3.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 

4.  Richard  Hildreth. 

5.  George  Bancroft. 

6.  John  Lothrop  Motley. 

7.  William  Hickling  Prescott. 


CHAPTER  ¥!!!. 

EMERSON   AND   THE   CONCORD   SCHOOL. 

M  All  his  earnest  is  good  earnest ;  and,  unlike  many  critics,  as  well  of  philosophy 
as  of  literature,  he  shows  no  trace  in  himself  of  the  evils  he  deprecates  in  others." 
—  Westminster  Review \  1840. 

"  Emerson  sits  under  the  tree  planted  by  Fichte."—  Westminster  Review,  1870. 

"  No  sweeter  soul  e'er  trod  earth's  ways." 

—  WWiam  Sharp. 

M  More  genial  and  more  delicate  than  Carlyle,  he  nevertheless  had  much  in  com- 
mon with  the  English  philosopher,  and  his  loss  will  be  keenly  felt  on  both  s-idrs  of 
the  Atlantic."— London  Standard. 

u  As  Wordsworth's  poetry  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  most  important  work  done  ii 
verse  in  our  language  during  the  century,  so  Emerson's  essays  are  the  most  impor 
tant  work  done  in  prose."— Matthew  Arnold. 

RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON  (199—202,  356-358), 
(1803-1882).  The  religious  controversy  which  arose 
in  Boston  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  grad- 
ually took  a  more  general  form.  The  Unitarian  theology 
became  too  narrow  a  limit  for  curious  thinkers,  and  Theo- 
dore Parker's  example  was  followed  by  a  group  of  young 
people,  who  abandoned  sectarian  debate  for  the  sake  of 
becoming  philosophers.  The  master-mind  among  them  was 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  whose  place  of  residence  has  sup- 
plied the  name  by  which  they  are  known — The  Concord 
School. 

Emerson  invested  the  platform  of  the  lyceum  with  a 
charm  and  influence  which  it  has  lost  in  later  days.  His 
lectures  were  essays  collated  from  his  voluminous  common- 
place book,  and  wore  delivered  in  a  style  of  oratory  com- 
bining neighborly  familiarity  with  oracular  emphasis.     The 


RALPH     WALDO    EMERSON.  447 

strongly  moral  bent  of  his  mind  may  have  been  an  inherit- 
ance from  the  eight  generations  of  clergymen  among  his  an- 
cestors. He  graduated  at  Harvard,  studied  divinity,  and  was 
ordained  as  a  Unitarian  minister ;  but  he  soon  gave  up  the 
charge  of  his  congregation,  and,  in  1832,  began  a  life  of 
meditation  and  literary  aims.  In  1833  he  made  a  short 
visit  to  Europe,  and  then  began  a  lasting  friendship  with 
Carlyle.  He  was  one  of  the  original  editors  of  The  Dial,  a 
magazine  begun  in  1840,  devoted  to  literature,  philosophy, 
and  religion.  The  writers  were  all  more  or  less  at  variance 
with  ordinary  standards  of  life,  and  tbey  expressed  their 
views  with  more  force  than  consistency.  Among  them  were 
Margaret  Fuller,  Alcott,  and  Thoreau.  In  1841  and  1844 
the  two  series  of  Emerson's  essays  were  published  ;  in  1847, 
his  poems.  The  year  1848  found  him  traveling  and  lectur- 
ing in  England,  where  he  renewed  his  old  intimacy  with 
Carlyle.  On  his  return  to  America  he  lectured  on  English 
Character  and  Manners,  and  his  lectures  were  published  in 
1856  as  English  Traits.  Others  of  his  works  are  Tlie  Con- 
duct of  Life,  Society  and  Solitude,  Representative  Men, 
and  Letters  and  Social  Aims.  In  1872  he  went  to  Europe 
again,  said  farewell  to  Carlyle,  traveled  on  the  Continent 
and  in  Egypt,  returning  in  1873.  The  last  years  of  his  life 
were  spent  among  friends  and  admirers,  who  treasured  his 
every  saying,  and  made  as  light  as  possible  the  burdens  and 
privations  of  old  age. 

Emerson's  somewhat  contradictory  traits  put  him  in  the 
position  of  a  preacher  who  does  not  try  to  make  converts. 
His  philosophy  was  devoid  of  system ;  his  poetry  by  turns 
obscure  and  luminous.  The  peculiar  quality  of  his  mind 
has  been  likened  to  German  mysticism  and  the  visions  of 
the  Neo-Platonists,  while  the  Hon.  Anson  Burlingame  de- 
clared that  "  there  are  twenty  thousand  Kalph  Waldo  Em- 
erson s  in  China." 

But  it  is  not  as  essayist,  philosopher,  or  poet  that  Emer- 


448  OSSOLI,    THOREAU. 

sod  will  be  longest  remembered.  There  was  something  in 
the  man  himself  that  commanded  admiration.  His  friends 
have  declared  that  he  was  perfect  in  courtesy,  kindliness, 
and  practical  sympathy.  The  man  did  not  live  secluded 
from  his  fellows,  however  much  the  philosopher  counseled 
retirement ;  but  came  out  into  the  world  and  generously 
paid  it  tribute  in  love  and  in  service. 

Margaret  Fuller  Ossoli  (1810-1850)  was  a  precocious  child, 
and  became  a  woman  of  strongly  marked  character,  and  of  brilliant 
literary  acquirements.  Her  sparkling  conversation  gave  charm  to 
a  personality  that  was  otherwise  rather  repellent.  For  a  time 
editor  of  the  Dial,  she  was  afterwards  employed  as  a  critic  for  The 
Tribune.  Her  influence  upon  the  thought  of  the  time,  especially 
upon  the  movement  known  as  Transcendentalism,  though  now  a 
matter  of  tradition,  was  undoubtedly  considerable ;  but  her  literary 
remains  are  few  and  unimportant  (210)- 

Henry  David  Thoreau  (1817-1862)  early  withdrew  from  the 
demands  and  restrictions  of  society  to  develop  his  nature  in  seclu- 
sion. Living  in  his  hut  on  the  shores  of  Walden  Pond,  hoeing  his 
garden,  keeping  his  house  in  order,  studying  nature  and  his  books, 
he  was  moved  to  write  down  the  facts  and  fancies  that  came  to  his 
mind.  He  produced  literature  of  the  same  order  as  Abraham  Cow- 
ley's essays,  and  Gilbert  White's  Natural  History  of  Selborne  (231 — 
233).  It  is  significant  that  in  the  seven  volumes  of  his  published 
works  there  is  not  one  complete  contribution  to  any  department 
in  which  he  was  interested.  Everything  is  suggestive,  but  nothing 
is  scientific  or  artistic.  His  biography  has  been  written  by  the 
younger  Channing. 

Two  other  members  of  the  so-called  Transcendental  School  are 
Amos  Bronson  Alcott,  the  "  teacher  by  conversations,"  and  Jones 
Very,  a  poet-mystic,  who  lived,  rambled,  and  preached  in  Salem 
(1813-1880). 

The  practical  bent  of  American  genius  has  been  shown  in  the 
growth  of  technical   literature  of  various  sorts.     Philology,  ct\ 
mology,  natural  science,  mathematics,  the  history  of  literature  and 
criticism  are  represented  by  names  like  Whitney,  Marsh   (196), 


HEKRY    DAVID    THOREAU.  449 

Noah  Webster,  Audubon  (258—260),  Agassiz,  Bowditch,  Pierce, 
Ticknor,  Whipple  (236),  Hudson  (224),  and  Richard  Grant  White 
(240). 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered:— 
1,  Ualph  Waldo  Emerson, 
2*  Margaret  Fuller  Ossolu 
S,  Henry  D.  Thoreau* 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE    ETHICAL    NOVELISTS   AND    MISCELLANEOUS    WRITERS    OF 
PROSE  AND  VERSE. 

JOSIAH    GILBERT   HOLLAND    (1819-1881),    as   editor  and 
author,  moralist  and  poet,  will  always  take  rank  among  i^iose 
whose  literary  efforts  have  been  of  the  people  and  tor  the  people. 
He  early  showed  evidence  of  the  ambition  and  energy  that  enabled 
him  to  gain  an  education  and  to  study  medicine,  in  spite  of  the  pov- 
erty that  dogged  his  steps.     From  1849  to  1866  he  was  connected 
with  the  Springfield  Republican  (established  1847),  a  paper  to  whose 
success  his  strong  moral  sense  and  literary  judgment  greatly  con- 
tributed.   The  History  of  Western  Massachusetts  appealed  aerially 
in  its  columns,  as  did  also  the  novel  called  The  Bay  Path  (310), 
and  both  may  be  considered  fair  specimens  of  the  kind  of  energy 
which  he   lavished  on  his  work.     "Timothy  Titcomb"  was  the 
signature  over  which   he  published  his   Letter*  to   Toung 
Married  and  Single  (1868).     The  industry  of  Dr.  Holland's  earlier 
authorship  is  shown  by  the  list  of  his  publications:  Bitt, 
(1858),  Gold/oil  (1859),  Miss  GiWerfs  Career  (1860),  Leuont 
(1861),  Letters  to  the  Joneses  (1863),  Plain  Talks  on  Familiar  Subject* 
(isc,-)).  and  the  H fe  of  Abraham  Lincoln (1866).     In  1867  ap| 
Kathrina,  which    has  had   a  larger  sale  than   any  Other  American 
poena   except    Hiawatha.     Dr.    Holland    took   charge  of 
Magazine  from   its  foundation  in   1870,  and  wrote  for  its  pa 
series  of  novels :  Arthur  Bojinicastle,  SevtnouLs,  and   Niehola 
turn.     All  treated  of  subjects  appealing  directly  to  public  interest, 
and  their  success,  together  with  the  author's  editorial  skill  in  col- 
lecting and  disposing  talent,  did  much  to  establish  the  new  maga- 
zine on  a  firm  footing.     Scribner's  Magazine  was  in  some  sort  tin- 
successor  of  "Knickerbocker"  and  "Putnam's,"  and  many  people 
predicted  for  it  a  like  short  life;  but  the  energy  of  its  management 
gave  it  quick  and  great  success.     The  wandering  life,  the  constant 


HOLLAND,    HAJjE,    ROE,    TERHUNB.  451 

ills  and  poverty  of  his  early  youth  and  manhood,  were  a  strong 
bond  between  Dr.  Holland  and  his  readers.  He  made  of  his  past 
struggles  a  background  for  the  action  of  his  stones,  and  thus  gave 
an  additional  force  to  the  moral  lessons  he  was  always  teaching. 
He  was  a  preacher  of  self-respect  and  independence ;  of  that  relig- 
ion which  is  founded  on  right  feeling  and  not  on  dogma. 

Dr.  Holland  is  the  type  of  a  class  of  writers  who  have  made  a 
moral  of  some  sort  more  or  less  evident  in  their  work.  They  have 
written  novels,  essays,  sketches,  and  children's  books,  differing  in 
style  and  grade  of  merit,  but  similar  in  the  prominence  which  they 
give  to  the  didactic  element. 

Edward  Everett  Hale,  born  in  1822,  has  written  extensively  for 
the  magazines.  His  style  is  clear,  and  his  methods  of  conveying 
moral  instruction  or  criticism  ingenious.  How  To  Do  It,  His  Level 
Best,  Ten  Times  One  is  Ten,  are  among  his  most  popular  volumes.  The 
Man  Without  a  Country  is  a  remarkable  example  of  well-sustained 
pathos,  which  has  probably  deceived  more  readers  than  any  similar 
fiction  of  our  time.  Mr.  Hale's  views  on  philanthropy  and  other 
social  topics  present  a  curious  parallel  to  those  of  Franklin. 

Edward  Payson  Roe  has  been  a  voluminous  and  popular  writer 
of  books  which  are  lacking  in  the  first  principles  of  modern  realism, 
and  yet  appeal  strongly  to  the  imagination  of  the  middle  classes  by 
their  hearty  support  of  virtue  in  the  most  trying  circumstances.  The 
ideal  world  which  Mr.  Roe  represents,  puts  all  its  rewards  within 
the  reach  of  industry  and  integrity.  One  of  the  most  popular  of 
these  stories  is  Barriers  Burned  Away,  in  which  the  climax  of  the 
plot  and  of  the  reader's  interest  is  reached  in  the  midst  of  graphic 
descriptions  of  the  great  fire  in  Chicago. 

"  Marion  Harland  "  is  hardly  recognized  in  Mrs.  Mary  Virginia 
Terhune.  For  a  number  of  years  this  nom  de  plume  was  familiar 
to  the  readers  of  Godey's  Ladies'  Book  ;  later  it  was  attached  to 
advertisements  of  holiday  publications  and  manuals  of  cookery. 
Mrs.  Terhune  has  done  much  to  arouse  young  girls  and  women  to 
a  deeper  sense  of  responsibility  to  themselves  and  the  world.  She 
lives  at  present  in  Springfield,  Mass.  Alone,  Moss  Side,  The  Hidden 
Path,  Eve's  Daughters,  Common  Sense  in  the  Household,  Husks,  Pleasant 
Loitering?,,  are  a  few  out  of  the  long  list  of  her  books. 


452  BATARP    TAYLOR. 


MISCELLANEOUS    WRITERS    OF    PROSE    AND 
VERSE. 

Bayard  Taylor  (1825-1878),  (273—275,  414).  Three 
years  after  the  publication  of  Miss  Gilbert's  Career,  a  novel 
occupied  with  the  somewhat  vexed  question  of  woman's 
proper  sphere,  appeared  another,  called  Hannah  Thurston, 
in  which  the  same  theme  was  treated  in  a  much  broader 
manner.  The  author,  Bayard  Taylor,  was  already  well 
known  as  the  hero  of  a  pedestrian  tour  in  Europe,  the 
author  of  several  books  of  travel,  a  poet  of  sufficient  merit 
to  be  only  temporarily  eclipsed  by  his  success  as  a  lecturer. 
and  as  associate  editor  of  The  Tribune.  John  Godfrey's 
Fortunes  embodied  sketches  of  the  author's  Bohemian  ex- 
periences, and  was  speedily  followed  by  The  Story  of  Ksn- 
nett  and  Joseph  and  his  Friend,  the  last  named  being  writ- 
ten for  the  Atlantic.  Tlie  Story  of  Kennett  describes  the 
author's  birthplace  and  home  in  Pennsylvania,  and  is  a  novel 
of  decided  power.  Mr.  Taylor  wrote  with  great  facility,  and 
cultivated  his  poetical  gifts  amidst  the  humdrum  and  con- 
stant industry  necessary  to  a  man  who  lived  by  bit  pen. 
The  man  and  his  imagination  were  both  the  rover 
feeble.  His  nature  was  rich  and  generous,  overflowing  in  n 
broad  and  hearty  sympathy  that  made  him  a  prince  of  good 
fellows.  A  lusty  strength  abounds  in  his -pages.  His  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  foreign  lands  and  customs  gives  bis 
work  warmth  and  richness  of  coloring.  Like  Knierson.  he 
had  something  of  the  Oriental  in  his  bent  of  mind,  hut  it 
was  (lie  art  of  (he  Kast  that  attracted  him.  not  its  mystery. 

An  edition  of  bis  poems  was  published  in  1805.  Thr 
Picture  of  St.  John,  The  Masque  of  the  Gods,  and  The 
Prophet,  a  Mormon  drama,  are  others  of  his  works.  Prince 
Deukalion  (1678) has  gained  admiration  from  literary  people 
rather  than  from  the  rank  and  tile  of  readers.     A  very  ap- 


TAYLOR,    HIGGIKSOK.  453 

preciative  criticism  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  Sidney  Lanier's 
Theory  of  the  English  Novel.  The  Echo  Club  (1876),  a  series 
of  clever  parodies  of  modern  poets,  grew  out  of  the  practice 
gained  in  the  author's  friendly  meetings  with  R.  H.  Stod- 
dard and  Fitz-James  O'Brien.  The  influence  of  German 
literature,  and  its  attraction  for  American  scholars,  have  for 
a  number  of  years  been  strongly  felt  in  both  prose  and 
poetry,  manifesting  themselves  in  the  number  and  high 
order  of  the  translations  which  have  appeared.  C.  T. 
Brooks  (born  in  1813)  worked  ably  in  this  field,  translating 
Schiller's  William  Tell,  the  Titan  and  Hesperus  of  Richter, 
and  the  first  part  of  Goethe's  Faust,  In  1870-71  appeared 
Mr.  Taylor's  complete  translation  of  the  great  Teutonic 
drama.  It  reproduces,  as  far  as  possible,  the  original  meters, 
and  offers  the  next  best  thing  to  those  who  cannot  read  tl^e 
German.  Mr.  Taylor  also  added  several  essays  and  sketches 
to  our  voluminous  Goethean  literature,  and  translated  Auer- 
bach's  Villa  on  the  Rhine.  He  had  gone  to  Germany  as 
American  Minister,  with  a  view  to  further  studies,  when 
his  death  occurred  in  1878. 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  born  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in 
1823,  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Higginson,  of  early 
colonial  fame.  It  was  perhaps  a  mental  bias  derived  from  the 
sturdy  old  nonconformist  himself  that  made  Higginson  so  early  an 
advocate  of  the  despised  cause  of  an  ti -si  a  very,  and  led  him,  in  1862, 
to  accept  the  command  of  a  regiment  of  negroes.  His  Army  Life 
in  a  Black  Regiment  is  the  narrative  of  his  experience.  He  has 
written  polished  essays  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  foremost  among 
which  are  the  Atlantic  Essays  (241),  and  Oldport  Days.  He  has 
done  much  editorial  work  for  The  Woman  s  Journal,  and  has  allied 
himself  with  those  literary  and  social  circles  of  Boston  whose  mem- 
bers are  interested  in  the  reform  of  government,  of  education,  and 
of  the  status  of  woman.  His  Young  Folks'  History  of  the  United 
States  has  made  the  subject  pleasant  and  intelligible  to  thousands 
of  boys  and  girls.  Malbone,  Colonel  Higginson's  only  novel,  ia 
marked  by  charming  qualities  of  style. 


454  STODDARD,    STEDMAK,    SAXE. 

Richard  Henry  Stoddard  was  born  in  1825  at  Hingham,  Kan 
He  presents  another  instance,  among  the  many,  of  a  poet  who 
nursed  his  talent  under  the  stress  of  uncongenial  employment. 
Hard  work  in  a  New  York  foundry  did  not  prevent  him  from 
wnting  with  grace  and  spirit,  until  he  had  won  his  way  to  a  fixed 
position  among  the  literary  men  of  this  generation.  Mr.  Stoddard 
has  been  an  independent  artist,  maintaining  a  theory  and  practice 
not  always  in  accord  with  the  more  prosaic  spirit  of  the  times. 
He  has  been,  moreover,  a  most  industrious  writer,  having  pub- 
lished several  volumes  of  prose,  edited  collections  of  verse,  and 
written  many  short  poems. 

Edmund  Clarence  Stedman,  born  in  1833  (423),  the  "  broker- 
poet,"  has  pursued  the  fickle  muse  in  Wall  Street.  In  1873  a 
collected  edition  of  his  poems  appeared.  They  are  marked  by 
lyric  beauty,  and  by  a  graceful  combination  of  satire  and  pathos 
essentially  modern  and  artificial.  The  tone  of  a  very  frank  senti- 
ment is  occasionally  distinguishable  in  them,  as  in  The  Heart  qf 
New  England.  The  Victorian  Poets  (1875)  contains  excellent,  thougfa 
unequal  criticism  of  modern  English  poetry. 

The  purely  satirical  poetry  of  America  is  not  represented  by 
many  names.  The  author  who  has  written  most  in  this  department 
is  John  Godfrey  Saxe  (392—396)-  He  was  born  in  Vermont 
in  1816,  graduated  from  Middlebury  College  at  twenty-three, 
and  studied  law,  which  he  afterward  abandoned  for  teetering, 
editorship,  and  general  literary  labors.  His  verse  is  fluent,  his  satire 
sharp  and  imperturbably  good-natured.  Mr.  Saxe  lashes  social 
foibles  with  a  steady  hand.  The  reader  of  Proud  Mim  MeBridt 
and  The  Move)/  Kiii<i  laughs  at  the  moment,  but  ne  vert  beta 
twinges  of  conscience.  Saxe's  cleverness,  though  sometimes  mu;- 
gestive  of  Hood,  is  purely  American  in  its  powers  and  its  limita- 
tions. 

William  Allen  Butler  (413),  born  in  Albany  in  1825,  and 
now  a  practising  hvwver  in  New  York  City,  published  in  1857  a 
social  satire  called  Nothing  to  Wear,  quotations  from  which  were  at 
once  in  everybody's  mouth.  Some  of  its  phrases  have  been  adopted 
as  part  of  the  common  stock  of  description,  to   be   used  without 


THAXTER,     DODGE.  455 

being  accounted   for.      In   1871,  in  Harper's    Magazine,  appeared 
General  Average,  a  spirited  comment  on  business  morality. 

Celia  Thaxter  (born  in  Portsmouth,  K  H.,  1833)  passed  most 
of  her  early  life  upon  the  rocky  Isles  of  Shoals,  then  a  spot  of 
primeval  simplicity  and  loneliness.  She  has  published  a  num- 
ber of  exquisite  poems,  redolent  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  sea.  Two 
graphic  descriptive  articles  concerning  her  early  home  published 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  1867-8,  had  the  double  effect  of  making 
it  a  spot  of  great  interest  to  tourists,  and  of  setting  curious  ob- 
servers on  the  track  of  the  many  quaint  varieties  of  human  life 
existing  along  our  Atlantic  coast. 

Mary  Abigail  Dodge,  "  Gail  Hamilton,"  (born  in  Massachusetts, 
1838,)  has  been  for  a  score  of  years  among  the  most  prolific  and 
popular  contributors  to  our  periodical  literature.  Her  numerous 
books  exhibit  in  various  degrees  the  same  qualities  that  charac- 
terize her  dashing  articles  on  Civil  Service  Reform,  contributed 
to  the  New  York  Tribune,  and  her  recent  vindication  of  Mrs.  Carlyle's 
memory.  She  writes  with  fire,  freedom,  and  point,  is  a  mistress 
of  the  argumentum  ad  hominem,  and  often  uses  her  ready  wit  with 
telling  effect.  She  is  by  nature  a  partisan,  however,  and  is  neither 
profound  nor  logical.  In  her  self-appointed  role  of  censor  of  the 
public  morals  she  brings  more  of  entertainment  than  of  conviction 
to  her  readers. 

In  this  chapter  we  have  considered: — 
The  Ethical  Novelists, 
1.  JTosiah    Gilbert   Holland;   2.  Edward  Everett 
Hale;    3.   Edward   Pay  soil  Roe;    4.    Mary 
Virginia  Terhune  (Marion  Harland). 
Miscellaneous  Writers  of  Prose  and  Verse. 
5.  Bayard  Taylor ;   6.  Thomas  Wentworth  Hig- 
ginson ;    7.    Richard    Henry    Stoddard;    8. 
Edmund  Clarence  Stedman ;  9,  John  God- 
fret/  Saoce ;  10.   William  Allen  Butler;   11. 
Celia    Thaxter;    12.    Mary   Abigail    Bodge 
(Gail  Hamilton). 


CHAPTEB  X. 

WHITMAN,  MILLER,  BRET  HARTE,  AND    RECENT  HUMORISTS. 

A  MBRICANS  and  Europeans  who,  uniting  the  offices  of  critic 
y\  and  prophet,  have  insisted  upon  the  development  of  some 
peculiarly  national  traits  in  our  literature,  have  heralded  several 
authors  as  the  forerunners  of  an  American  School.  These  writers, 
however  different  in  other  respects,  are  all  characterized  by  a  free- 
dom of  manner  or  matter  which  is  lauded  or  deplored  in  accord- 
ance with  the  preconceived  theories  of  the  reader.  Foremost  among 
these,  both  for  the  extreme  character  of  his  literary  doctrine  and  for 
its  uncompromising  practice,  is  Walter  Whitman  (401),  who  was 
born  on  Long  Island  in  1819.  He  had  a  public  school  education, 
followed  alternately  the  trades  of  printer  and  carpenter,  lived  in 
the  great  cities  of  the  East  and  West,  edited  newspapers,  nursed 
the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  Washington  hospitals  during  the  Civil 
War,  and  seems  to  have  gained  the  personal  friendship  of  the  poets 
and  thinkers  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  The  work  which  tirst 
brought  him  prominently  before  the  public  was  a  volume  of  poems 
called  Leave*  of  Grass,  published  in  1855.  A  later  issue,  with 
additions  and  corrections,  was  issued  in  1882.  Mr.  Whitman  throws 
away  rhyme  and  conventional  meter,  depending  for  his  poetical 
effects  upon  the  stress  of  feeling  and  the  truth  of  the  sentiment  he 
expresses.  That  he  can  use  rhyme  is  proved  by  occasional  lyric- 
bursts  like  0  Captain,  my  Captain ;  that  he  does  not  choose  to  do 
so  is  shown  by  expositions  of  his  literary  theory  which  have  ap- 
peared in  the  North  American  Beview.  Some  critic  has  said  that  it  he 
wished  to  train  a  boy  up  to  be  a  poet,  he  would  set  him  to  reading 
Whitman.  This  is  a  fair  comment  on  the  author,  for  his  work  seems 
to  be  rather  the  rough  material  of  poetry  than  the  finished  Article, 
A  dozen  lyrics  might  often  be  elaborated  from  one  of  Whitman's 
catalogue  lines.     In  the  chaotic  display  of  rhetorical  goods  which 


MILLER,    II  ARTE.  45? 

he  puts  before  one  there  is  many  a  Shakespearean  phrase,  many  a 
burning  thought ;  but  their  form,  or  lack  of  form,  is  an  insuperable 
obstacle  to  recognition  in  many  cases. 

Cincinnatus  Heine  Miller  (432),  better  known  as  Joaquin 
Miller,  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1841.  He  experienced  the  "  ups 
and  downs"  of  Western  life  among  miners  and  frontiersmen, 
studied  law,  was  an  express  messenger,  managed  a  weekly  news- 
paper, was  made  judge  in  Grant  County,  Oregon,  and  published 
Songs  of  the  Sierras  in  London  in  1870.  The  personality  indicated 
by  these  poems  is  a  curious  one — the  author  poses  as  a  u  child  of 
nature,"  with  a  strong  leaning  to  Byron  and  Swinburne,  whose 
influence  has  certainly  polished  his  verse.  Miller  has  written  prose 
sketches  under  the  title  of  The  First  Families  of  the  Sierras.  Other 
works  of  his  are  Songs  of  the  Sunlands,  The  Ship  in  the  Desert,  and 
The  Baroness  of  New  York.  European  critics  praise  his  work  for  its 
freshness  and  poetic  feeling. 

Francis  Bret  Harte  (246, 428,  429)  was  born  in  Albany  in  1837. 
While  still  a  child,  a  spirit  of  independence  and  adventure  urged  him 
towards  theiVest,  and  the  year  1854  found  him  entering  on  a  career 
of  gold-digging,  school-teaching,  and  type-setting  in  California. 
In  1864  he  was  made  secretary  of  the  San  Francisco  mint.  His 
varied  experience  was  first  turned  to  literary  account  when  he 
assumed  the  editorship  of  the  Overland  Monthly  (1868),  for  which 
he  wrote  The  LucTc  of  Roaring  Gamp  and  The  Outcasts  of  Poker  Flat. 
These  were  received  by  the  public  with  an  odd  mixture  of  emo- 
tions; they  revealed  life  under  conditions  new,  startling,  incom- 
prehensible, yet  of  fascinating  interest.  In  1870  appeared  Plain 
Language  from  Truthful  James,  or,  as  it  is  usually  styled,  The 
Heathen  Chinee,  which  has  been  more  widely  copied  and  quoted 
than  any  other  poem  of  the  day.  It  was  soon  evident  that  Mr. 
Harte  had  founded  a  new  school.  He  was  floated  high  on  the  tide 
of  popularity,  and  at  the  solicitation  of  his  publishers,  Messrs. 
Fields,  Osgood  &  Co.,  he  came  to  the  East.  Here  he  made  his 
home  for  some  time,  and  wrote  for  the  Atlantic  and  other  magazines. 
Besides  a  volume  of  poems,  Mr.  Harte  has  written  many  short 
stories  and  sketches ;  prose  burlesques,  under  the  title  of  Condensed 
Novels;  three  novels,  Gabriel  Conroy,  Thankful  Blossom,  Tlie  Story 


458  RECENT    AMERICAN    HUMORISTS. 

of  a  Mine.  His  best  work  has  been  done  under  the  direct  influence 
of  the  life  and  scenery  of  the  Pacific  slope.  It  has  a  freshness  born 
of  the  forests  and  sierras,  and  a  subtle  sympathy  with  the  undisci- 
plined human  nature  in  gamblers  and  half-breeds.  This  native 
exhilaration  and  buoyancy  of  style  are  lacking  in  some  of  his  later 
works.  In  their  place  we  find  a  kind  of  literary  ennui,  which 
occasionally  flashes  up  into  an  emotion  that  is  stagy  rather  than 
spontaneous.  Flip,  and  In  the  Carquinez  Woods,  are  his  latest  pub- 
lications. 

The  influence  of  Harte,  Whitman,  and  their  many  followers  has 
been  much  discussed.  It  has  been  urged  that  decency  is  not  com- 
patible with  Mr.  Whitman's  art,  nor  morality  with  Mr.  Hartes. 
French  realism  is  believed  to  lurk  under  the  careless  exterior  of 
one,  and  all  the  horrors  of  the  Minerva  Press  in  the  unvarnished 
tales  of  the  other.  Whitman  apparently  leaves  his  readers  to  find 
their  own  moral,  while  Harte  points  out  the  wrong  one.  In  reply  to 
this,  it  can  only  be  said  that  there  have  always  been  writers  of 
whom  these  things  were  said,  and  who  yet  had  readers  and  admirers 
of  unquestioned  taste.  Emerson  praised  Whitman's  poetry,  and 
Thoreau  admired,  while  he  admitted  that  he  could  not  understand 
the  man.  • 

Recent  American  Humorists.  Closely  allied  to  this  develop- 
ment of  what  may  be  called  Young  America  in  our  more  formal 
literature,  is  the  keen  sense  of  humor  which  has  inspired  dialect 
poems  and  sketches,  burlesque  lectures,  bad  spelling,  and  every 
variety  of  comicality  that  has  amused  the  crowd  or  paid  the  new* 
paperback.  In  spite  of  our  host  of  humorists,  however,  America  lias 
never  had  a  Punch  or  a  Charivari,  though  efforts  have  been  repeatedly 
made  to  establish  comic  newspapers  in  our  large  cities.  Among 
the  least  unsuccessful  of  these  attempts  was  Vanity  Fair,  published 
in  New  York  from  1859  to  1863.  Its  pages  were  brightened  by  the 
McArone  Letters  of  George  Arnold,  the  editorial  work  of  Art  em  us 
Ward  and  Charles  Godfrey  Lcland  (Hans  Ibvitmann)  (242).  Pudc 
and  Life  are  two  illustrated  comic  papers  of  the  present  day  which 
have  prolonged  their  existence  beyond  the  average  term  ot*  their 
prototypes. 

Some  of  the  names  connected  with  these  efforts  merit  more 
than  a  passing  mention.     George  Arnold  (1834-1865)  was  a  poet 


LOCKE,    CLEMENS.  459 

of  brilliant  promise.  His  lyrics  throb  with  a  passion  of  pathos, 
and  his  verse  is  very  musical.  His  poems  were  reissued  a  short 
time  ago  under  the  editorship  of  William  Winter;  and  one  of  E. 
C.  Stedman's  shorter  poems  expresses  the  sense  of  loss  which 
Arnold's  friends  felt  at  his  untimely  death. 

Charles  Farrar  Browne  (1834-1868)  became  famous  as  Artemus 
Ward.  He  began  his  literary  career  while  setting  type  for  the 
Boston  Carpet-Bag,  and  wrote  his  first  jokes  for  its  columns.  He 
soon  tired  of  such  monotonous  duties,  as  he  did  later  of  newspaper 
work  in  Cleveland  and  in  New  York.  His  humor  was  broad  and 
somewhat  farcical,  and  he  brought  the  art  of  bad  spelling  to  a 
point  of  artistic  perfection.  As  a  comic  lecturer  he  was  very  suc- 
cessful, assisted,  no  doubt,  by  his  ungainly  and  awkward  physique. 

David  Ross  Locke  (born  1833),  "  Petroleum  V.  Nasby,"  like 
Browne,  began  life  with  the  varied  but  uneventful  round  of  printer 
and  editor.  He  was  engaged  for  a  time  as  compositor,  and  later  as 
reporter,  for  the  Cleveland  Plaindealer,  with  which  Artemus  Ward 
was  also  associated.  The  second  letter  over  the  signature  which 
made  him  famous  was  published  in  1861  in  the  Hancock  (Ohio) 
Jeffersonian.  It  was  a  mock  petition  against  the  negroes,  osten- 
sibly drawn  up  by  an  ignorant  secessionist,  and  its  satire  was  so 
telling  that  it  was  copied  all  over  the  country.  Later  efforts  in 
the  same  line  won  for  their  author  reputation  and  considerable  in- 
fluence. 

Other  humorists  who  have  amused  the  public,  with  less  of  origi- 
nality or  of  moral  point  in  their  satire,  are  G.  H.  Derby  (John 
Phoenix),  Seba  Smith  (Major  Jack  Downing),  B.  P.  Shillaber  (Mrs. 
Partington),  George  D.  Prentice  (351),  and  Charles  G.  Halpine 
(Private  Miles  O'Reilly).  During  the  war,  Robert  H.  Newell 
(Orpheus  C.  Kerr),  wrote  some  excellent  serious  poems,  as  well  as 
the  prose  satire  which  he  made  his  chief  political  weapon. 

More  varied  than  the  phases  of  his  authorship,  and  more  subject 
to  fluctuation  than  the  quality  of  his  humor,  has  been  the  career  of 
Samuel  Langhorne  Clemens  (Mark  Twain).  He  was  born  in 
Missouri  in   1835.      Printer's   "  devil,"   Mississippi    pilot,  miner, 


460  HAY,     CARLETON. 

Western  editor,  European  tourist, — all  his  experiences  have  paid 
contribution  to  his  authorship.  The  Innocents  Abroad  (1869), 
Roughing  It  (1872),  numerous  short  magazine  articles  full  of  fun 
and  point,  and  an  inimitable  gift  as  a  humorous  speaker,  have  won 
him  reputation  and  much  hearty  good-will.  He  may  fairly  be 
called  the  favorite  American  humorist ;  and,  over  and  above  this, 
the  Prince  and  ilie  Paujtcr  (1881)  has  lately  pro  ted  him  a  master 
of  simple  and  graceful  narrative. 

John  Hay  (431),  (born  1839),  President  Lincoln's  private  secre- 
tary during  the  civil  war,  and  since  1870  one  of  the  Tribune  staff,  is 
a  poet  of  careful  workmanship.  He  has  made  exceedingly  painstak- 
ing studies  in  dialect,  and  has  not  repeated  the  same  types,  as  too 
many  of  his  imitators  have  done.  Jim  Bludso  is  perhaps  his  best 
known  poem.  He  has  published  Pike  County  Ballads  and  OcutiUan 
Bays. 

William  M.  Carleton,  while  still  a  young  man  from  Hili«dale, 
Mich.,  attracted  public  attention  by  the  four  poems  of  the  •'  Betsy 
and  I"  series,  which  were   published  in    Mr.  Locke's  paper,  the 
Toledo  Blade.    They  have  since  been  republished  with  other*,  tmdar 
the  title  of  Farm  Ballads. 


In  this  chapter  we  have  considered  «- 

1.  Walt  )Vh  it  man. 

2.  dncinnatus  Urine  Millet'. 

3.  Francis  Bret  llarte% 

4.  liecent  American  Humorists. 

si.  Charles  Farrar  Browne. 

to.  David  Ross  Locke. 

c.  Samuel  Lain/home  Clemens* 

<l.  John  Hay. 

e.  William  M.  Carleton. 


CHAPTER    XL 

SCHOOLS  OF   CONTEMPORARY  AMERICAN     FICTION. 

Fiction  Delineating  Provincial  Characteristics.  The  mere 
outlines  of  biography  given  in  the  preceding  pages  must  have  sug- 
gested the  difficulties  which  have  beset  American  men  of  letters. 
These  very  obstacles,  however,  have  curiously  determined  some 
forms  of  our  literature.  In  the  hurry  of  business,  the  confusion  of 
manners,  and  the  license  of  pioneer  life,  there  have  been  keen-eyed, 
observers  who  busied  their  pens  with  these  special  or  imperfect 
developments  of  character  fairly  described  by  Ben  Jonson's  old 
term  humors. 

Foremost  among  these  was  Sylvester  Judd  (1813-1853),  a  Uni- 
tarian minister  in  Augusta,  Maine.  Mr.  Judd's  early  associations 
had  been  among  Calvinists,  so  that  he  brought  to  the  work  of  his 
maturer  years  all  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  of  a  recent  convert. 
Marga/ret  (1845)  was  written  with  the  avowed  object  of  filling  a 
gap  in  the  religious  literature  of  the  Unitarians.  Mr.  Judd  was 
hampered  by  the  moral  of  his  story  and  by  his  learning,  so  that 
the  action  of  the  story  is  halting  and  clumsy,  but  there  are  isolated 
passages  of  great  force  and  beauty  in  the  book.  It  was  greatly 
admired  by  Emerson,  Lowell,  and  other  critics,  as  an  original 
picture  of  some  of  the  most  salient  features  of  American  life. 

Mr.  Judd  wrote  several  other  works:  Philo  (1850),  which  the 
author  called  an  "epical  or  heroical  attempt";  Richard  Edney 
(1850),  The  Church  (1854),  and  a  posthumous  drama  called  The 
White  Hills. 

Some  very  remarkable  sketches  of  a  certain  phase  of  New  Eng- 
land life  have  been  made  by  Elizabeth  D.  B.  Stoddard  (born  1823), 
the  wife  of  the  poet,  Richard  Henry  Stoddard.     In  The  Morgesons 


462  STODDARD,     WINTHROP,     BAKER. 

(1862),  Two  Men  (1863),  Temple  House  (1867),  she  has  treated  with 
dramatic  vigor  the  repressed  yet  ardent  passion,  the  intellectual 
courage,  the  material  limitations,  and  the  curious  social  distinctions 
of  New  England  life. 

Theodore  Winthrop,  a  descendant  of  Governor  John  Winthrop 
and  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  was  born  in  New  Haven  in  1828.  A  deli- 
cate, studious  child,  he  grew  up  into  one  of  Yale's  prize  scholars. 
Continued  ill-health  and  sensitive  self-exaction  made  him  delay 
undertaking  any  great  literary  work  until  the  expectancy  of  his 
friends  began  to  take  the  form  of  doubt.  He  had  practised  law  in 
New  York  and  St.  Louis,  had  spent  two  years  at  Panama,  and 
had  been  with  Lieutenant  Strain  to  Darien,  when,  in  April,  1861,  he 
joined  the  famous  Seventh  Regiment  of  New  York  on  its  march  to 
Washington.  He  was  promoted  very  soon  to  the  rank  of  major, 
acting  as  secretary  to  General  Butler,  and  was  killed  at  Big  Bethel 
while  leading  a  charge. 

His  novels,  all  published  since  his  death,  give  evidence  of  their 
author's  mental  health  and  enthusiasm.  They  are  crude,  however, 
and  in  the  opinion  of  his  friends  are  mere  promises  of  what  he 
would  have  done  had  he  lived.  Cecil  Dreeme  is  a  powerful  sketch 
of  the  darker  side  of  city  life  in  New  York;  John  Brejit,  a  breezy 
story  of  the  plains ;  Edwin  Brothertoft,  a  romance  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. The  Canoe  and  the  Saddle  and  Life  in  the  Open  Air  are 
reprints  of  essays  and  sketches  from  his  note-books  and  the  maga- 
zines. Winthrop  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  Saxon  type  of  body 
and  mind,  and  endows  all  his  heroes  with  pluck,  persistence,  and 
a  love  of  horse-flesh. 

William  Mumford  Baker  (1825-1888),  born  in  Washington 
City,  a  graduate  of  Princeton,  and  a  Presbyterian  minister  in 
Texas  and  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  has  worked  a  com- 
paratively untitled  field  in  his  esoteric  studies  of  ''poor  whites." 
secession  and  pulpit  orators.  His  novels  have  a  social  and  his- 
torical value  quite  apart  from  the  incident  which  they  detail.  His 
first  book  was  a  life  of  his  father,  Rev.  Daniel  Baker,  D.D. ;  his  first 
story  The  Virginian*  in  Texas,  written  for  the  amusement  of  his 
children,  was  submitted  to  their  criticism  and  approval  long  before 
any  thought  of  publishing  it  had  occurred  to  the  writer.     Inside, 


EGGLESTONr    STOWE.  463 

an  almost  literal  history  of  the  Civil  War  as  Mr.  Baker  saw  it, 
appeared  as  a  serial  in  Harper's  Weekly.  The  New  Timothy,  Garter 
Quarterman,  A  Year  Worth  Living ,  Col.  Dunwoddie,  all  received 
flattering  testimony  to  the  truth  and  power  of  their  delineations  of 
out-of-the-way  types  of  character.  His  Majesty  Myself,  as  a  brilliant 
and  satirical  description  of  a  sensational  preacher,  and  offering 
sketches  of  some  well-known  characters  in  Princeton,  caused  a 
great  deal  of  comment  and  inquiry.  Blessed  Sai?it  Certainty  pre- 
sents  a  very  spirited  portrait  of  Governor  Sam  Houston. 

Edward  Eggleston,  born  in  Indiana  in  1837,  displays  a  vivid 
and  powerful  art  in  representing  the  dramas  of  crude  civilization. 
True,  the  incidents  he  narrates  are  of  themselves  interesting,  and 
the  views  of  life  novel,  but  it  takes  the  sympathy  of  an  artist  to 
find  the  "  touch  of  nature  "  under  the  superstition,  vulgarity,  and 
sordid  aims  that  make  up  the  surface  life  of  the  backwoods.  The 
Hoosier  Schoolmaster  and  The  Circuit  Rider  are  generally  considered 
his  most  vigorous  stories,  although  The  End  of  the  World  and  The 
Mystery  of  Metropolisville  have  many  readers.  Boxy  is  in  many 
respects  the  most  artistic  of  his  works. 

The  slavery  agitation,  the  Civil  War,  and  the  vexed  questions  of 
reconstruction  and  negro  suffrage,  furnished  themes  for  novels 
which  seem  to  have  gained  a  permanent  place  in  literature. 
First  in  the  list,  of  course,  is  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  published  in  1852. 
Over  five  hundred  thousand  copies  have  been  sold  in  this  country, 
and  it  has  been  read,  and  many  times  translated,  abroad.  Its 
author,  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  (305,  306,  308)  was  born 
in  Litchfield,  Conn.  (1812),  and  had  shown  literary  skill  in  her 
treatment  of  New  England  historical  topics  before  Uncle  Tom  made 
her  famous.  She  wrote  this  great  story  for  the  National  Era,  a 
Washington  newspaper,  and  afterwards  republished  it  in  two  vol- 
umes. Bred,  A  Tale  of  th*  Great  Dismal  Swamp  (1856)  did  not 
equal  the  popularity  of  its  predecessor.  Her  later  stories  have 
been  studies  of  New  England  character,  or  of  the  romance  of 
modern  life. .  The  Minister's  Wooing  (1859),  Oldtown  Folks  (1869), 
and  My  Wife  and  I,  best  typify  her  literary  merits. 

The  great  charm  of  her  novels  lies  in  their  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  and  in  an  exquisite  sense  of  humor  that  stops  just  short 


464  TROWRRIDHE,     TOURGEE. 

of  the  grotesque.  Sam  Lawson  and  a  score  of  other  figures  were 
rescued  by  her  from  oblivion.  The  race  of  shrewd  New  England 
villagers,  of  black  cooks,  of  angular,  energetic  old  maids,  of  illog- 
ical and  warm-hearted  grandmothers,  of  sweet,  conscientious,  intro- 
spective maidens,  found  in  her  an  appreciative  observer  and  a 
faithful  limner. 

Cudjo's  Gave  and  The  Three  Scouts  added  greatly  to  the  popu- 
larity of  John  Townsend  Trowbridge  (born  1827),  (415),  who 
was  already  known  by  his  children's  stories  over  the  signature  of 
"  Paul  Creyton  "  (1857).  Since  the  war,  Mr.  Trowbridge  has  been 
a  constant  writer  of  tales,  sketches,  and  poetry  for  the  magazines. 
For  some  years  he  took  the  place  of  another  Oliver  Optic,  writing 
stories  full  of  a  vigor  and  dash  that  made  them  fascinating  to 
young  and  old  alike.  His  poetry  is  moderate  in  quantity,  but  it  is 
carefully  finished  and  full  of  suggestion,  often  of  pathos. 

A  FooTs  Errand,  in  1880,  revived  some  of  the  issues  that  short- 
sighted critics  had  supposed  laid  to  rest  with  the  war,  and  opened 
to  its  writer,  Judge  Albion  W.  Tourgee,  a  career  of  popular  author- 
ship. Bricks  Without  Straw,  John  Eax,  and  Hot  Plowshares  followed 
in  quick  succession,  but  without  sustaining  the  reputation  of  the 
first  venture.  These  books  are  a  kind  of  dramatized  politics  for 
young  Americans,  and  they  divide  the  reader's  interest  between 
campaign  documents  and  fervid  love-making.  Judge  Tourgee  has 
established  another  representative  of  periodical  literature,  Our  ( 
tinent,  in  which  several  of  his  stories  have  appeared  as  serials. 

Critical  Fiction.  If  the  tone  of  the  earlier  English  comments 
on  American  fiction  be  remembered,  a  very  marked  change  of  sen- 
timent  is  evident  when  English  magazines,  in  1888.  quote  with 
approbation  the  following  statement  from  the  Revue  des  Ihnx 
Monde$:  "It  is  to  America,  beyond  illadoobt,  that  we  owe  to-day 
the  best  novels  written  in  English."  One  of  the  most  finished 
novelists  of  America  has  given  Mi  fieWB  of  the  present  and  future 
of  his  art.  He  says:  "The  moving  accident  is  certainly  not  its 
trade,  and  it  prefers  to  avoid  all  manner  of  dire  catastrophes.  In 
one  manner  or  other,  the  stories  were  all  told  long  ago."  So  much 
for  the  present ;  the  novel  of  the  future  will  be  "  an  analytic  study 


WILLIAM    DEAN    HOWELLS.  465 

rather  than  a  story,  which  is  apt  to  leave  the  reader  arbiter  of  the 
destiny  of  the  author's  creations."  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that 
many  of  the  so-called  stories  which  engage  our  attention  have  been 
constructed  on  this  principle,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  we  can 
point  to  certain  other  authors  who  still  display  something  less  of 
skill  and  more  of  sentiment,  who  write,  not  because  they  wish  to 
narrate,  but  because  they  have  a  story  to  tell.  One  of  the  principal 
names  in  the  group  of  writers  avowing  the  theory  first  described  is 

William  Dean  Howells  (247).  He  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1837, 
and  picked  up  his  education  while  working  as  printer,  reporter, 
and  news-editor  for  the  Ohio  State  Journal.  Among  his  friends  in 
early  manhood  were  the  sculptor,  J.  Q.  A.  Ward,  and  the  poet, 
John  J.  Piatt.  Howells  is  described  as  shy,  even  bashful,  when  in 
the  company  of  strangers,  but  a  keen  observer,  and  given  to  amus- 
ing his  companions  by  racy  accounts  of  absurd  things  that  had 
happened  under  their  unseeing  eyes.  As  the  co-laborer  of  Piatt,  in 
1860  he  published  his  first  poems,  which  show  the  influence  of 
Heine  in  their  grace  of  touch  as  well  as  in  their  gloom.  Mr.  Howells 
stands  next  to  Longfellow  in  his  control  of  hexameters.  The  poem 
called  The  Mowers  is  a  fair  example  of  his  skill.  In  1861  he  wrote 
a  life  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  soon  after  was  appointed  consul  to 
Venice.  Venetian  Life  and  Italian  Journeys  record  in  charming 
fashion  the  impressions  which  he  received  during  his  four  years  in 
Europe.  On  his  return  to  America  he  was  employed  on  The  Nation 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  went  to  Boston  as  assistant  editor  of  The 
Atlantic.  The  entire  control  of  the  magazine  became  his  on  the 
retirement  of  James  T.  Fields  in  1871,  and  he  retained  it  for  ten 
years,  spending  much  time  and  thought  in  reviewing  books.  Sub- 
urban Sketches  was  made  up  of  essays  written  for  the  Atlantic,  and 
most  of  Mr.  Howells's  novels  have  appeared  as  serials  in  its  pages. 
Tfieir  Wedding  Journey  was  his  first  effort  in  the  line  of  sustained 
narrative,  and  he  has  never  surpassed  some  of  its  felicitous  touches 
of  humor.  A  Chance  Acquaintance  is  used  as  a  guide-book  upon  the 
St.  Lawrence,  so  faithful  is  its  description ;  but  it  is  in  A  Foregone 
Conclusion  that  the  author's  poetic  feeling  has  freest  play.  In  his 
later  works  the  humor  has  deepened  into  satire,  and  there  seems  to 
be  a  languid  assumption  of  the  unsatisfactoriness  of  life.  Descrip- 
tions of  scenery  are  not  so  prominent  in  his  later  work,  which  con- 


466  HOW  ELLS,    JAMES. 

cerns  itself  with  development  of  character  and  phases  of  American 
life.  Private  Theatricals  is  a  clever  analysis  of  the  rival  claims  of 
love  and  friendship.  In  the  sharp-spoken,  keen-witted  invalid  of 
this  story  is  found  one  of  the  author's  most  perfect  portraitures. 
TJie  Lady  of  the  Aroostook  depicts  a  young,  beautiful,  unsophisti- 
cated girl  amidst  circumstances  which  only  her  innocence  can  fail 
to  recognize  as  trying.  The  plot  turns  on  the  curious  charm  which 
she  exerts  upon  a  party  of  young  men  thoroughly  appreciative  of 
the  situation.  Tlie  Undiscovered  Country,  on  the  whole,  perhaps, 
the  most  serious  of  Mr.  Howells's  works,  partially  fails  for  that 
very  reason.  Its  problem  is  insoluble,  and  the  enthusiastic  hero 
of  the  story  appears  pitiful  rather  than  heroic  or  even  pathetic. 
A  Fearful  Responsibility,  Dr.  Breeds  Practice,  and  A  Modern  Instance 
have,  in  rapid  succession,  afforded  texts  for  the  critics  and  topics 
for  the  chit-chat  of  parlors.  A  Woman's  Reason  is  his  latest  work, 
and  considered  by  one  critic,  at  least,  his  best.  Mr.  Norman  says: 
"  In  A  Woman' 8  Reason  he  has  given  us  a  study  of  a  few  eventful 
years  of  a  woman's  life,  characterized  by  his  unequaled  knowledge 
of  the  mysterious  working  of  woman's  mind  and  hear.,  and  told 
with  great  power  and  truth  to  nature.  The  environment — so  im- 
portant a  feature  in  the  methods  of  the  tcole  naturaliste — is  perfect." 
Mr.  Howells  has  written  several  clever  comedies,  of  which  The  Par- 
lor Gar  and  Out  of  the  Question  are  the  best. 

The  life  of  Henry  James,  Jr.  (born  1843),  presents  marked  con 
trasts  to  that  of  Howells.  The  child  of  an  old  and  cultured  family, 
he  was  born  in  New  York,  and  carefully  educated,  for  the  most 
part  under  private  tutors.  He  spent  a  few  years  at  the  Harvard 
Law  School,  and  in  1869  went  abroad,  where  he  has  since  lived. 
His  home  has  been  chiefly  in  England  and  in  Italy.  From  the 
appearance  of  The  Story  of  a  Year  in  the  Atlantic  for  March,  1865, 
to  TJie  Portrait  of  a  Lady  (1881-82),  the  public  has  read  his  writings 
with  a  constant  protest.  Meantime,  every  young  author  stiv 
model  his  style  on  that  of  James,  and  James  himself  continues  to 
produce  the  highly-finished  psychological  and  thoroughly  artificial 
"Studies"  in  which  he  delights,  Poor  llicJiard  (1867)  and  Roderick 
Hudson  (1876)  have  more  dramatic  force  and  spontaneity,  in  short, 
are  less  sophisticated,  than  most  of  his  Longer  stories.  An  Inter- 
national Episode,  The  American,  Tlie  European,  and  The  Portrait  of 


JAMES,    LATHROP.  46? 

a  Lady,  are  Mr.  James's  most  noteworthy  contributions  to  our 
abundant  "  international  literature."  Watch  and  Ward,  Confidence, 
A  Bundle  of  Letters,  Washington  Square,  The  Point  of  View,  and  The 
Siege  of  London,  are  other  of  his  fictions.  James's  Life  of  Hawthorne, 
in  Morley's  English  Men  of  Letters  series,  pronounces  an  estimate 
of  Hawthorne's  genius  which  was  considered  far  too  low  by  many 
ardent  admirers  of  the  Concord  genius.  It  must  be  said,  however, 
that  the  book  is  charmingly  written,  sets  forth  merits  in  Hawthorne 
that  had  never  before  been  put  into  words,  and  is  a  most  suggestive 
comment  on  American  character.  His  other  writings  are  critical 
essays,  which  are  always  pointed  and  original,  and  disappointing 
sketches  of  travel.  Description  of  scenery  and  pictures  does  not 
offer  scope  for  James's  greatest  talent — analysis  of  motive.  Mr. 
James  is  an  accomplished  student  of  French  literature,  and  owns 
himself  the  admiring  pupil  of  Alphonse  Daudet. 

Howells  and  James  are  in  some  sense  rivals,  though  friendly  ones. 
Mr.  James  is  perhaps  the  more  finished  artist,  but  Mr.  Howells  is 
the  more  entertaining  writer.  Mr.  Howells  shows  us  the  most 
common  actions  of  the  people  whom  we  meet  every  day,  Mr.  James 
lays  bare  the  souls  of  two  or  three  remarkable  people.  If  we  follow 
Mr.  Howells  we  have  the  completest  satisfaction  at  every  step ;  if 
Mr.  James  is  our  guide,  we  have  the  interest  of  eternal  query.  In 
writing  of  this  quality  of  Mr.  James's  work,  the  critic  who  has  been 
already  quoted  says :  "  The  reader  feels  that  when  the  author  un- 
seals the  vase  of  his  cultivated  fancy,  and  the  dramatis  person®  issue 
and  begin  their  maneuvers,  their  liberator  does  not  care  much  what 
they  do  or  what  finally  becomes  of  them,  and  the  idea  involved  in 
their  existence,  so  long  as  their  conversation  keeps  up  to  the  proper 
standard  of  ingenious  and  cultured  ambiguity." 

George  Parsons  Lathrop  was  born  in  Honolulu,  Sandwich 
Islands,  1851.  His  marriage  with  Eose  Hawthorne,  the  daughter 
of  the  novelist,  naturally  brought  him  into  personal  contact  with 
the  literary  people  of  Concord  and  Boston.  He  is  himself  a  poet, 
critic,  and  novelist  of  marked  ability.  His  work  in  all  departments 
shows  subtlety  of  thought  and  elaboration  of  detail.  Rose  and 
Hoof- Tree,  An  Echo  of  Passion,  and  Newport,  are  some  of  his  more 
elaborate  and  later  works. 


468  BISHOP,    STOCKTON,    WARNER. 

William  Henry  Bishop  (born  1847)  was  the  author  of  a  short 
story  called  One  of  the  Thirty  Pieces,  published  in  the  Atlantic  in 
1876.  Its  analysis  of  motive  and  somewhat  tragic  pathos  attracted 
attention.  In  1877-8,  Detmold,  a  continued  story,  appeared  in  the 
Atlantic,  and  The  House  of  a  Merchant  Prince  in  1882.  The  last  is 
his  most  sustained  work,  and  gives  evidence  of  great  power  of  ob- 
servation and  satire.  Mr.  Bishop  has  written  entertaining  accounts 
of  travel  in  Mexico  and  the  West. 

Readers  of  Scribner's  Magazine  are  familiar  with  the  stories  of 
Rudder  Orange,  which  narrate  all  the  absurdities  of  an  unconven- 
tional mode  of  life  in  New  York.  Frank  R.  Stockton,  their  author, 
(born  1834),  is  a  well-known  contributor  to  magazine  literature.  His 
children's  tales  long  ago  gave  him  a  place  in  their  hearts,  and  older 
people  have  not  failed  to  appreciate  the  quaint  turns  of  fancy  that 
adorn  his  simplest  stories.  Mr.  Stockton  writes  apparently  with  the 
single  purpose  of  amusing,  but  his  neatness  and  finish  of  touch  are 
those  of  a  worker  in  the  school  of  Howells  and  James.  The  Float- 
ing Prince  and  other  Fairy  Tales  was  published  in  1881.  Most  of 
the  Rudder  Grange  sketches  have  also  been  collected  in  a  volume. 

Miscellaneous  Fiction.  Charles  Dudley  Warner  (born  1829),  a 
►  native  of  Massachusetts,  has  written  for  the  Atlantic  many  essays 
and  sketches  marked  by  a  most  exquisite  sense  of  homer,  kept 
always  on  the  sober  side  of  frolic,  and  by  a  style  whose  art  cooriltfl 
in  an  exquisite  appearance  of  naturalness.  Mr.  Warner  is  muter 
of  a  certain  kind  of  pathos,  as  those  can  testify  who  have  tried  to 
read  aloud  his  Hunting  of  the  Deer.  My  Summer  in  a  Garden. 
log  Studies,  Baddeck  and  That  Sort  of  Tiling,  In  the  WUdtrnmt^  In  th<- 
Levant,  Saunterings,  and  Mummies  and  Modems,  are  titles  of  his  col- 
lected essays.  Being  a  Boy  (1877)  ranks  among  the  classics  of 
juvenile  literature. 

Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich  (born  1836),  (427).  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire,  displays  in  his  literary  work  certain  (inalities  not  often 
found  in  unison.  He  writes  at  once  with  dash  and  care,  has  a 
wonderfully  pure  taste  in  poetry,  and  produces  novels  displaying 
analytic  skill  and  considerable  interest  of  plot.  There  is  more  of 
the  spirit  of  genuine  mischief  in  his  literary  jokes  than  in  those  of 


ALDRICH,    CABLE.  469 

any  other  writer  of  the  present  day.  But  for  his  pathetic  lyrics 
and  his  polished  sonnets,  one  would  think  that  he  had  never  out- 
grown the  boy  in  his  own  character. 

Babie  Bell,  'Majorie  Daw,  and  The  Story  of  a  Bad  Boy  are  among  his 

most  widely  known  efforts ;  Prudence  Palfrey,  The  Queen  of  Sheba, 

/and  The  Stillwater  Tragedy  are  his  most  elaborate  novels.     A  com- 

•  plete  edition  of  his  poems  was  issued  in  1865,  Cloth  of  Gold  appeared 

in  1875,  and  Flower  and  Thorn  in  1876. 

From  time  to  time  novels  of  secondary  merit  have  appeared, 
which  have  attracted  attention  for  their  promise  or  their  local 
coloring.  Such  are  Miss  Sprague's  An  Earnest  Trifler,  and  Guerh- 
dale,  by  J.  S.  of  Dale. 

The  literary  characteristics  which  have  been  described  do  not 
prevail  in  all  American  fiction.  Here  and  there  a  warmth  of  color- 
ing, an  energy  of  sentiment,  marks  an  author  as  belonging  to  a 
different  literary  guild.  The  character  of  his  workmanship  is  not 
necessarily  less  excellent.  Such  an  exceptional  writer  is  George 
W.  Cable.  He  is  a  native  of  New  Orleans,  and  is  still  under  forty 
years  of  age.  His  life  in  the  Sunny  South  has  not  been  an  easy  one, 
for  he  left  school  at  fourteen  to  be  the  only  support  of  his  family, 
and  served  as  a  clerk  until  he  was  nineteen.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Confederate  army,  where  he  is  remembered  as  a  good  soldier,  a 
constant  student  of  the  Bible,  of  mathematics,  and  of  the  Latin 
grammar.  He  was  seriously  wounded  in  one  of  the  engagements 
of  his  brigade,  and  returned  to  New  Orleans  after  the  war  to  begin 
life  over  again  as  an  errand-boy.  His  first  literary  efforts  appeared 
in  a  special  column  of  the  New  Orleans  Picayune,  and  were  signed 
"  Drop-Shot."  For  a  short  time  he  was  connected  with  the  edi- 
torial staff  of  this  paper,  but  was  discharged  because  his  religious 
scruples  made  him  refuse  to  report  theatrical  news.  He  returned 
to  mercantile  pursuits,  writing  only  in  the  intervals  of  business, 
until  the  success  of  the  sketches  collected  under  the  name  of  Old 
Creole  Days  justified  him  in  adopting  literature  as  a  profession. 
Hie  Orandissimes  and  Madame  Delphine  are  stories  of  Creole  life 
and  character  which  are  without  rivals,  as  they  were  without  prece- 
dent. Mr.  Cable  has  also  written  a  history  of  New  Orleans,  display- 
ins  in  it  the  same  powers  of  patient  investigation  which  mark  hia 


470       BURNETT,    HAWTHORNE,     8POFFORD. 

reproductions  of  curious  customs  and  difficult  patois.  The  fact 
that  Mr.  Cable  is  a  man  of  simple  and  even  stern  views  of  life  does 
not  surprise  those  who  have  felt  the  undercurrent  of  serious  pur- 
pose in  the  humor  and  pathos  of  his  descriptions.  There  is  a  ten- 
derness in  his  handling  of  many  social  topics  that  betrays  a  more 
than  artistic  interest.  His  studies  are  the  result  of  long  and  care- 
ful investigation  of  records  and  history,  as  well  as  of  personal 
observation. 

For  a  number  of  years  Mrs.  Frances  Hodgson  Burnett  (bom 
in  Manchester,  England,  1849)  had  written  stories  for  various 
magazines  without  attracting  much  notice,  until,  in  1877,  That  Lass 
o*  Laurie's  appeared.  The  author's  wonderful  control  of  the  Lanca- 
shire dialect,  and  her  apparently  intimate  knowledge  of  the  manner 
of  life  among  miners,  were  such  as  to  compel  admiration,  even 
from  the  critics  who  thought  her  plot  improbable  and  the  treat- 
ment sensational.  HawortKs  was  a  novel  of  equal  power,  though 
perhaps  of  less  general  interest.  It  dealt  with  questions  of  social 
economy,  treating  them,  for  the  most  part,  with  satire  rather  than 
with  pathos.  Louisiana,  and  Esmeralda,  a  drama,  portray  phases 
of  life  in  the  mountainous  country  of  the  South,  where  there  is 
often  more  genuine  affection  than  culture  among  the  fathers  and 
mothers.  Mrs.  Burnett  has  treated  these  subjects  with  real  feeling. 
In  Through  One  Administration,  a  story  of  Washington  life,  the 
action  is  halting  and  the  treatment  more  artificial  than  in  most 
of  her  other  books. 

The  novels  of  Julian  Hawthorne  (born  1846)  are  marked  by 
much  that  he  has  in  common  with  his  father,  Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 
In  both  is  the  same  love  of  psychological  drama,  the  same  attrac- 
tion toward  out-of-the-way  themes;  but  here  the  resemblance  <  mis, 
for  up  to  the  present  time  the  clever  son  has  not  succeeded  in 
mastering  his  own  talent.  Bressa?it,  Idolatry,  Dust,  Sebastian  Xtronu, 
and  Garth  are  all  titles  that  call  up  impressions  of  strength  and 
vigor,  of  eccentricity  and  weakness,  in  almost  equal  proportions. 
Saxon  Studies  and  English  Stoidim  are  the  results  of  Mr.  Hawthorne's 
observation  during  a  residence  abroad  which  covers  some  years. 

Harriet  Prescott  Spofford  has  w  ritten  both  prose  and  poetry  in 


PHELPS,    WOOLSON.  471 

a  style  so  unmistakable  that  her  productions  need  no  signature. 
Her  descriptions  of  Southern  life  have  a  peculiar  passion  and  lan- 
guor that  seem  born  of  the  heavy  golden. atmosphere  and  luxuriant 
vegetation  which  she  so  often  introduces  into  her  backgrounds.  Mrs. 
Spofford  is'a  most  daring  writer,  limiting  herself  only  by  the  phys- 
ically impossible  in  her  construction  of  plots,  and  carrying  her  de- 
scription of  emotion  to  the  verge  of  indelicacy.  The  Amber  Gods, 
The  Thief  in  the  Night,  Azarian,  and  Sir  Rohan's  Ghost  are  her  most 
ambitious  works,  while  numerous  shorter  tales  published  in  Har- 
per's Magazine  and  Tfie  Atlantic  show  the  same  traits. 

Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps  is  the  daughter  of  Professor  Austin 
Phelps,  and  well  known,  on  her  own  account,  as  the  author  of 
many  popular  magazine  stories,  a  few  poems,  and  several  novels. 
Miss  Phelps  is  an  invalid,  suffering  intensely  from  chronic  sleepless- 
ness, which  makes  it  impossible  for  her  to  maintain  any  regular 
system  of  work.  Her  prejudices  are  strong,  her  character  intense, 
as  may  be  gathered  from  her  writings.  The  artistic  perfection  of 
her  work  is  marred  by  a  sentimentality  in  the  choice  of  words,  as 
is  its  strength  by  the  morbidness  of  much  of  the  thinking.  She  is, 
however,  mistress  of  great  pathos  and  vivid  descriptive  power. 
Most  of  her  stories  have  been  written  in  the  interest  of  a  broad 
philanthropy,  and  have  attained  great  popularity  and  influence. 
Men,  Women,  and  Ghosts  appeared  in  1869;  Hedged  In,  in  1870. 
They  were  followed  by  The  Silent  Partner,  The  Story  of  Avis, 
Friends,  and  Dr.  Zay  (1882).  The  Gates  Ajar  (1868)  gave  the 
author's  rather  original  conception  of  the  future  life  at  a  time  when 
there  was  less  open  speculation  on  such  subjects  than  at  present, 
and  made  a  sensation.  The  change  of  public  opinion  in  this  re- 
gard may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  issue  of  a  companion 
work,  The  Gates  Wide  Open,  in  1883,  has  been  attended  with  very 
little  comment,  although  the  views  expressed  are  much  more 
radical. 

Constance  Fenimore  Woolson  is  a  great-niece  of  James  Feni- 
more  Cooper.  Her  first  published  work  was  a  sketch  in  Harpers 
Monthly  called  The  Happy  Valley.  She  has  written  constantly  ever 
since,  and  with  increasing  breadth  and  power.  Castle  Nowhere, 
Two  Women,  a  poem,  Rodman  the  Keeper  (1880),  Anne  (1882),  and 


472  JACKSON,    CRAWFORD* 

For  the  Major  (1883),  are  the  titles  of  those  sketches  and  storied 
which  have  appeared  in  book  form.  Miss  Woolson  succeeds  in 
writing  with  great  truth  and  simplicity,  dealing  often  with  rare 
types  of  character.  Her  pathos  is  not  strained,  but  is  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  the  circumstances,  and  makes  its  own  appeal.  Rod- 
man the  Keeper  is  one  of  the  most  touching  stories  which  have  grown 
out  of  the  hard  conditions  of  the  Civil  War. 

H.  H.  is  the  modest  signature  over  which  Mrs.  William  S. 
Jackson  wrote  her  early  poems  and  more  charming  sketches. 
Mrs.  Jackson  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Professor  N.  W.  Fiske,  of 
Amherst  College,  and  was  born  in  Amherst  in  1831.  Her  first 
volume  of  poems  was  published  in  1874,  and  received  the  praise 
of  Mr.  Emerson.  Mrs.  Jackson  writes  for  several  magazines,  where 
her  graceful  style  and  sympathetic  touch  are  always  welcomed  by 
their  readers. 

Professor  Hjalmar  Hjorth  Boyesen,  of  Columbia  College, 
though  a  Norwegian  by  birth,  has  written  characteristic  prose  and 
poetry  in  English.  Norse  Idyls,  and  Ounnar ;  a  Norse  Romance,  are 
among  his  most  important  efforts  thus  far. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Harding  Davis  draws  with  a  vivid,  heavy  stroke 
pictures  of  the  doubt  and  distress  which  grow  out  of  "  the  force  of 
circumstances."  She  has  a  singular  knowledge  of  the  brute  that 
lies  deep  down  underneath  the  surface  virtues  of  the  best  of  us. 
and  shows  us  the  injustice  we  do  the  members  of  the  so-called 
lower  classes  in  judging  them  harshly,  without  making  allowance 
for  the  restraining  influence  of  those  conventional  barriers  which 
protect  our  own  lives.  Paul  Meeker,  Margaret  Howth,  and  Waiti«{j 
for  the  Verdict  are  among  her  best  known  stories. 

F  Marion  Crawford  ^as  a  name  little  known  when  Mr.  Isaacs 
appeared  in  1883.  It  was  soon  learned,  however,  that  Mr.  Craw  ford 
had  come  back  from  India  about  two  years  before,  announcing  his 
intention  of  adopting  journalism  as  a  profession ;  that  he  had  forth- 
with written  a  few  articles  for  the  World,  the  North  Ameriot/i,  and 
the  Critic;  that  the  success  of  Mr.  Isaacs  surprised  him  and  all  his 
friends.     Like  the  later  stories  of  the  same  author,  Dr.  Ciaudiui 


THOMAS,    ALCOTT.  473 

and  A  Roman  Singer,  it  is  marked  by  the  intrinsic  interest  of  the 
narrative  and  the  simple,  logical  development  of  the  plot.  To  Lee- 
ward, his  last  publication,  shows  strong  character-sketching,  but  is 
crude  in  execution. 

The  monthly  magazines  have  afforded  scope  for  the  development 
of  talent  which  can  hardly  be  classified  as  belonging  to  any  particu- 
lar school.  The  poems  and  sketches  and  essays  of  Edith  Thomas, 
Rose  Terry  Cooke,  Nora  Perry,  and  Lucy  Larcom  have  all  the 
care  for  detail,  the  genuine  sentiment,  and  literary  skill  necessary 
for  wide  popularity.  At  the  same  time,  one  finds  in  them  but  a 
small  modicum  of  that  creative  power  requisite  to  a  literature 
which  endures. 

Joel  Chandler  Harris,  the  editor  of  the  Atlanta  Constitution,  as 
"  Uncle  Remus,"  has  reproduced  the  dialect  and  folk-lore  of  the 
negroes  with  marvelous  nicety.  He  is  a  careful  student  of  all 
matters  bearing  on  what,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  may  be  called 
the  social  philosophy  of  the  colored  people  in  the  South. 

In  the  same  line,  but  without  any  attempt  at  continuous  narra- 
tive, are  the  dialect  sketches  of  Mrs.  Lizzie  Williams  Champney. 
Although  Mrs.  Champney  is  a  successful  writer  in  several  other 
departments,  these  vivacious  characterizations  are  her  most  satis- 
factory work  from  a  literary  point  of  view.  Her  sketches  of  travel 
are  interesting  and  graceful,  and  lend  themselves  readily  to  illus- 
tration. Bouroon  Lilies  is  the  title  of  Mrs.  Champney's  most 
ambitious  novel.  She  has  also  written  several  books  for  children, 
combining  amusement  and  instruction  in  very  ingenious  fashion. 

Louisa  May  Alcott  is  a  daughter  of  A.  Bronson  Alcott,  the 
celebrated  transcendentalist  and  teacher  by  conversations.  With 
great  success,  she  has  written  for  the  amusement  and  instruction  of 
children  and  young  people.  Her  style  is  fresh,  breezy,  and  whole- 
some  ;  the  principles  she  inculcates  are  always  noble.  Little  Women 
(1867)  was  probably  her  most  successful  story.  Moods  is  excep- 
tional among  her  literary  efforts,  because  of  its  somewhat  morbid 
sentiment.  It  was  an  early  work,  marked  by  the  uncertain  touch 
of  a  tyro. 


474  WHITNEY. 

Mrs.  Adeline  D.  T.  Whitney  has  written  much  fiction  treating 
of  the  development  of  character  in  girls,  expounding  practical 
philanthropy,  and  tinged  with  the  author's  theological  views.  The 
moral  purpose  of  her  books  is  much  more  commendable  than  the 
literary  style  in  which  it  is  set  forth. 

In  this  chapter  we  have  considered : — 

Fiction  Delineating  Provincial  Characteristics, 
1.  Sylvester   Judd ;    2.   Theodore    Wiuthrop ;    3. 
W*   M.  Baker;    4.   Edward   Eggleston ;    5. 
Harriet    Beecher    Stowe ;    6.    J.    T.    Trow- 
bridge; 7.  A.  W.  Tourgee. 
Critical  Fiction. 
8,  W.   D.   Ho wells ;  9.    Henry  James,   Jr.;    10. 
George    P.    Lathrojj ;    11.    W.    H.    Bishop; 
12.  Frank  B.  Stockton. 
Miscellaneous  Fiction. 

13.  Charles  Dudley  Warner;  14.  T.  B.  Aldrich; 
15.  G.  W.  Cable  ;  16.  Mrs.  F.  II.  Burdrtt  ; 
17*  Julian  Hawthorne;  18.  Harriet  F. 
Spofford  ;  19.  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps. 


The  religious  principles  which  played  so  prominent  a  part  in  the 
earlier  history  of  literature  in  America  have  been  gradually  crowded 
out  of  the  general  field,  and  now  form  a  special  department.  The 
thoughtful  religious  literature  of  the  present  time  has  been  philo- 
sophical and  expositional. 

The  first  class  includes  the  writings  of  President  Porter,  Dr. 
McCosh,  Thomas  C.  Upham,  James  Marsh,  Mark  Hopkins,  Laurens 
S.  Hickok,  Henry  James,  the  father  of  the  novelist,  and  Borden  S. 
Bowne.  These  men  have  all  exercised  their  learning  and  their 
literary  skill  in  defending  certain  views  of  Christianity,  or  certain 
fundamental  theories  of  religion  and  morality.  President  Porter's 
work  on  The  Human  Intellect;   The  Laws  of  Discursive  Thought, 


CLERICAL    WRITERS.  475 

Christianity  and  Positivism,  and  The  Scottish  Philosophy  of  Dr. 
McCosh;  the  Studies  in  Theism  and  Metaphysics  of  Professor  Bowne; 
The  Nature  of  Evil  and  Substance  and  Shadow  of  Mr.  James — all  are 
works  written  from  different  points  of  view,  but  having  a  common 
purpose— to  strengthen  the  defences  of  religion  and  morality. 

The  expository  literature  of  this  class  covers  an  immense  amount 
of  technical  research.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  in  his  Systematic  Theol- 
ogy has  made  the  most  complete  showing  of  Calvinistic  views  since 
the  days  of  Jonathan  Edwards.  Professor  Tayler  Lewis  has 
published  a  work  called  Science  and  the  Bible.  Philip  Schaff  and 
W.  G.  T.  Shedd  have  labored  diligently  in  the  department  of 
Church  history;  Dr.  Conant  and  Dr.  Barnes  in  that  of  Biblical 
exposition.  The  prominent  pulpit  orators  of  the  day  have  been 
influential  in  directing  public  opinion  by  lectures,  addresses,  printed 
sermons,  and  occasional  books.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  has  written 
a  Life  of  Christ;  John  Hall,  W.  M.  Taylor,  Phillips  Brooks,  and 
Richard  S.  Storrs  have  all  been  active  in  these  lines  of  usefulness. 
Dr.  N.  W.  Taylor,  President  Finney,  and  Dr.  Bushnell  have  written 
formal  works  on  theology. 

Explanation  of  the  comparatively  small  number  of  writers  in  the 
special  department  of  theological  literature  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  Puritau  interest  in  such  literature,  once  prevalent  in  our 
country,  has  abated.  Books  of  religious  and  ethical  quality  are 
abundantly  produced.  Their  authors,  with  American  readiness  of 
adaptation,  put  them  in  dress  suited  to  popular  taste.  Many  a 
writer,  animated  by  the  earnest  spirit  of  a  preacher,  is  publishing 
his  doctrines  of  religion  and  morality  in  the  chapters  of  a  story. 
Such  a  writer  was  Dr.  Holland,  such  is  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Roe — each 
of  them  the  moral  teacher  of  vast  numbers  of  readers. 

The  distinguishing  excellence  of  literature  in  America  is  its 
variety.  The  activity  of  national  thought  touches  all  subjects. 
Our  men  of  letters  are  discussing  questions  of  the  mental,  the 
social,  and  the  physical  sciences  with  incisiveness,  with  breadth  of 
understanding,  w7ith  raciness  and  vigor  of  expression  not  surpassed 
by  writers  in  England ;  but,  granting  a  few  distinguished  excep- 
tions, it  must  be  admitted  that  in  nicety  of  idiomatic  usage,  in  free- 
dom from  the  taint  of  provincialism,  and  in  deliberate  consideration 
of  theme,  the  majority  of  American  authors  have  much  to  learn  from 
their  transatlantic  contemporaries. 


TO    THE    ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 


Addison,  Joseph,  227-236 ; 
his  early  writings,  228  ; 
his  co-operation  with 
Steele,  881 ;  his  delinea- 
tions of  character,  232 ; 
his  poetry,  232;  his  so- 
cial and  political  career, 
833. 

Akenside,  Mark,  280. 

Alfred.  King,  31. 

Alliteration,  29,  58,  59. 

Anglo-Norman  literature, 
35,  38. 

Anglo-Saxon,  19-20;  fu- 
sion with  the  Norman, 
23-24 ;  the  vernacular 
prose,  31-34. 

Anglo-Saxons,  19. 

Arhuthnot,  Dr.  John,  246. 

Arnold,  Dr.  Thomas.  856. 

Arihur,  King,  88. 

Ascham,  Kogcr,  72. 

Augustan  Age,  The,  211. 

Austen,  Miss,  375. 

B. 

Bacon,  Francis,  130-142; 
his  relations  to  Bur- 
leigh and  lo  Essex,  188  ; 
his  political  success, 
198;  his  political  dis- 
grace, 186 ;  ids  services 
to  science,  13.") ;  his 
English  writings,  141. 

Bale.  John,  99. 

Ballads,  88  39,  68-70. 

Barclay,  Alexander,  68. 

Barrow,  Isaac,  808  906. 
Baxter,  Richard.  158,  151. 
Beattie,  James,  277, 
Beaumont,    Francis,    121- 

122. 
Bode,  the    Venerable,  89- 

34. 
Bell,  Currer.    fiw  Bronte. 
Bentham,. Jeremy,  350-351. 
Beowulf,  Lav  Of,  91 
Berkeley,  Bishop,  247. 

Bernerw,  Lord.  71. 
Bible,  English  Translation 
of,  61 -62,  72-74. 


Blackstone,  Sir  William, 
271. 

Blackwood's  Magazine, 
864,866. 

Blair,  Robert,  277. 

Blind  Harry,  67. 

Bolingbroke,  Viscount, 
246,  247. 

Boswell,  James,  269. 

Boyle  and  Bentley  Contro- 
versy, 238-239. 

Boyle,  Robert,  208. 

Bronte,  Charlotte,  375- 
376. 

Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  150. 

Brown,  Thomas,  347. 

Browning,  Mrs.,  325,  326. 

Brut  d'Angleterre,  36. 

Buckle,  H.  T.,  343-344. 

Bnhver-Lytton,  Sir  E..  381. 

Banyan,  John,  175-178. 

Bnrbadgc,  James.  92. 

Biirbadge,Richard,101,108. 

Burke,  Edmund,  272-274. 

Burnet,  Gilbert,  208. 

Burnet,  Thomas,  208. 

Barney.  Francis,  373. 

Burns,'  Robert,  291-295. 

Butler,  Bishop,  976. 

Butler,  Samuel,  173-175. 

Byron,  Lord,  309-316. 


Cedmon,  29-31. 
Campbell,  Dr.  George,  275. 
Campbell,  Thomas,  322. 

Canterbury  Tales,  48-54. 
Carew,  Thomas,  148. 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  367-370. 

( 'axton,  William,  66. 
Cecil,  William,  132. 
Celts,   17-19. 

Chapman,  QeOMM,  86,  97. 
Charles  IX,  I 
Chatterton,  Thomas.  187. 
Chancer,  Geoffrey,  40-56. 
Chettle.  Henry,  102. 
Chevy  Chase,  69. 
Chillingworth,     William, 

Clarendon,   Earl    of,   180- 

189. 
Coleridge,  S.  T.,  331-885. 


Collins,  William,  278. 
Collier,  Jeremy,  196. 
Congreve,    William,    198, 

194. 
Coverdale.  Miles,  73. 
Cowley,  Abraham.  145,  1 }»» 
Cowper,  William,  285,286. 
Crabbe,  George,  288-290. 
Crashaw,  Richard,  147,  148. 
Cudworth,  Ralph,  183. 

D. 

Daniel,  Samuel,  84 
Danish  Invasion,  20. 
Davenant,     Sir    William, 

146. 
Defoe,  Daniel,  249-251. 
Decker,  Thomas  125. 
Denham,  Sir  John,  147. 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,  367. 
Dickens.      Charles,      879, 

380. 
Disraeli.  Benjamin,  381. 
Disraeli,  Isaac,  381. 
Don  John,  143. 
Douglas,  Gawin,  67. 
Drama,  English,  it.s  origin, 

ST.  97. 
Drama,  The  corrupt,  190- 

196. 
Drayton,  Michael,  84. 
Dry  den,  John,  183-190. 
Dunbar,  William,  67. 


Edgeworth,     Maria,     374, 

Edinburgh  Review,  363, 
364. 

Eighteenth  Century,  Re- 
marks on,  291 

Elizabethan  Age,  The,  75. 
76,  196  19?. 

Eliot,  Gcorg 

English  Language,  fusion 
of  its  elements,  81 

English  Literature,  divis- 
ions of,  18,  27. 

Earl  of,  132,  138. 
Euphuism,  95. 
Evans,  Mary  Ann,  383-385. 
Evelyn,  John,  179. 


INDEX    TO    ENGLISH    LITERATUEE. 


477 


Fabyan,  Robert,  71. 
Faery  Queene,  The,  80-82. 
Faraday,  Michael,  361, 362. 
Farquhar,  George,  195, 196. 
Fielding,  Henry,  253-255. 
Fletcher,  Giles,  85. 
Fletcher,  John,  121-123. 
Fletcher,  Phineas,  85. 
Ford,  John,  124. 
Froissart,  Chronicle  of,  71. 
Fuller,  Thomas,  151. 


Gammer  Gurton's  Needle, 

91. 
Gaskell,  Mrs.,  376. 
Gay,  John,  224. 
Gibbon,  Edward,  262-264. 
Gifford,  William,  364. 
Godwin,  William,  373,374. 
Goldsmith,    Oliver,     280- 

284. 
Gower,  John,  59,  60. 
Gray,  Thomas,  278,  279. 
Greene,  Matthew,  277. 
Greene,  Robert,  96,  102. 
Grote,  George,  340. 

H. 

Hall,  Edward,  71. 

Hall,  Joseph,  85. 

Hallam,  Henry,  342,  343. 

Hamilton,  Sir  William, 
348,  349. 

Harvey,  Gabriel,  78. 

Hathaway,  Anne,  101. 

Hawes,  Stephen,  66. 

Hazlitt,  William,  365. 

Hemans,  Mrs.,  326. 

Henryson,  Robert,  67. 

Herbert,  George,  147. 

Hereford,  61. 

Herrick,  Robert,  148. 

Herschel,  J.  F.  W.,  361. 

Hey  wood,  John,  89. 

Heywood,  Thomas,  125. 

Hobbes,  Thomas,  182. 

Holinshed,  Raphael,  127. 

Home,  Henry.  SeeK&mez. 

Hood,  Thomas,  324,  325. 

Hooker,  Richard,  129. 

Howard,  Henry,  67. 

Hume.  David,  259-261. 

Hunt,  James  Henry  Leigh, 
322,  323. 

Hyde,  Edward.  See  Clar- 
endon. 

I. 

Inductive    Method.     See 

Bacon. 
Interludes,  The,  89. 
Ireland,    William   Henry, 


J. 

James  I.  of  Scotland,  64, 

65. 
Jeffrey,  Francis,  363. 
John  of  Gaunt,  43. 
Johnson,  Samuel,  265-272. 
Jonson,  Ben,  117-121. 
Junius,  Letters  of,  274. 

K. 

Karnes,  Lord,  275. 
Keats,  John,  321,  322. 
Keble,  John,  355,  356. 
Kingsley,  Charles,  359, 360. 
Kyd,  Thomas,  96. 


Lake  School,  The,  327. 
Lamb,  Charles,  365-367. 
Landor,    Walter    Savage, 

323.  324. 
Langlande,  William,  57. 
Langue  d'Oc,  21,  22. 
Langue  d'Oil,  21,  22. 
Latin  by  English  authors, 

32. 
Layamon,  36,  37. 
Lee,  Nathaniel,  197. 
Lewes,  G.  H.,  353. 
Lewis,  Matthew  Gregory, 

372 
Locke,  John,  199-203. 
Lockhart,  J.  GM  364. 
Lovelace,     Richard,    148, 

149. 
Lydgate,  John.  63,  64. 
Lyly,  John,  95. 

M. 

Macaulay,  T.  B.,  340, 341. 
Macpherson,  James,  286. 
Mandeville,  Sir  John,  61. 
Marlowe,  Christopher,  96, 

97. 
Marry  at,  Captain.  377. 
Massinger,     Philip,     123, 

124. 
Maurice,  J.  F.  D.,  358,359. 
Mermaid  Club,  The,  128. 
Metrical     Paraphrase     of 

Scriptures,  29,  30. 
Middle  English,  35,  36. 
Mill,  James,  249,  350. 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  351-353. 
Miller,  Hugh,  362,  363. 
Milman,  Henry  Hart.  343. 
Milton,  John,  156-171. 
Miracle  Plays,  87-89. 
Mirror  for  Magistrates,  76. 
Mitford,  Miss,  376-377. 
Modern  English,  26. 
Montague,     Lady     Mary, 

247,  24S. 
Moore,  Thomas,  317-319. 
Moralities,  The,  88,  89. 


More,  Sir  Thomas,  70,  71. 
More,  Hannah,  290. 
Mysteries,      or      Miracle 
Plays,  87,  88. 

N. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  207, 
208. 

Nineteenth  Century,  Com- 
ments on,  338,  seq. 

Norman  Conquest,  Effects 
of,  20,  21,35. 

Norman  Fusion  with  An- 
glo-Saxon, 21-24,  35, 36. 

North,  Christopher.  See 
Wilson. 

Norton,  Thomas,  90. 

Novelists,  The  First  Great, 


O. 

Occleve,  Thomas,  63. 

Old  English.  26. 

Old   English    Poetry,  27- 

31. 
Old  English  Prose.  31-34. 
Orm,  or  Ormin,  37. 
Ormulum,  The,  37. 
Ossian,287. 
Otway,  Thomas,  197. 
Owl  and  Nightingale,  The, 


Pageants,  90. 

Paley,  William,  275. 

Paston  Letters,  The,  65. 

Peele,  George,  96. 

Pepys,  Samuel,  180. 

Percy,  Bishop,  299,  300. 

Philosophy,  Scottish,  345. 

Philosophy,  English,  349. 

Piers  Plowman,  57-59. 

Pope,  Alexander,  212-224. 

Pope's  Quarrel  with  Addi- 
son, 222. 

Printing  Introduced  into 
England,  65. 

Prior,  Matthew,  225. 


Quarles.  Francis,  147. 
Quarterly    Review,    The, 
364. 


Radcliffe,  Ann,  371,  372. 
Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  127, 

128. 
Ralph    Royster    Doyster, 

91. 
Ramsay,  Allan,  226. 
Reade,  Charles,  382. 
Reformation,  The,  127. 
Reid,  Thomas,  345, 


478 


INDEX    TO    ENGLISH    LITERATURE 


Restoration,  Literature  of, 

172, 173. 
Reviewers  and  Essayists, 

363. 
Reviews,  Edinburgh,  and 

Quarterly,  363,  364. 
Richardson,  Samuel,  251- 

253. 
Robertson,  F.  W.,  356-358. 
Robertson,   William,  261, 

262. 
Romance  Languages,  21. 
Roman  Invasion,  17,  18. 
Romantic   Poetry,  Dawn 

of,  277. 
Rowe,  Nicholas,  197. 


Sackville,  Thomas,  76,  90. 

-Saxon,  Element  in  Eng- 
lish Language,  26. 

Saxon  Chronicles,  31-32. 

Scott.  Sir  Walter.  299-308. 

Scottish  Poetry  in  Fif- 
teenth and  Sixteenth 
Centuries,  67. 

Semi-Saxon.  Duration  of, 
26. 

Shadwell,  Thomas,  186. 

Shaftesbury,  Lord.  200, 
801. 

Shakespearean  Drama- 
tists, 116. 

Shakespeare,  William,  98- 
115. 

Shelley,  Mrs,  372,  373. 

Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe, 
319-321. 

Sheridan,  Richard  Brins- 
ley,  291. 


Shirley,  James,  125. 
Sidney,  Philip,  76,  77. 
Skelton,  John,  66,  67. 
Smith,  Adam,  274. 
Smith,  Sydney,  363,  364. 
Smollett,  Tobias  George, 

255-257 
South,  Robert,  206. 
Southey,  Robert,  335-337. 
Spenser,  Edmund,  77-84. 
Spenserian    Stanza,  The, 

83. 
Steele,  Sir  Richard,  229- 

231. 
Sterne,     Lawrence,     257, 

258 
Stewart,  Dagald,  346,  347. 
Still,  John.  91. 
St.  John,  Henry.    See  Bo- 

lingbroke. 
Stow,  John,  127. 
Suckling,  Sir   John,  148, 

149. 
Surrey,  Earl  of,  67,  68. 
Swift,  Jonathan,  236-245. 

T. 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  152, 153. 
Temple,  Sir  William,  237, 

238,  239. 
Teutonic  Race,  19,  20. 
Thackeray,       concerning 

Addison,  234,  836. 
Thackeray,   W.    M.,    377- 

379. 
Theatres,  The   Early,   93, 

94. 
Thirlwall,  Bishop,  340. 
Thompson,    James,     277, 

278. 


Thrale,  Mr  and  Mrs.,  270. 
Tillotson,        Archbishop, 

205,  206. 
Trollope,  Anthonv,  382. 
Troubadours,  The,  21,  22. 
Trouveres   The.  21,  22. 
Tyndale,  William,  72,  73. 

U. 

Udall,  Nicholas,  91. 
Unities,    The    Dramatic. 
119. 


Vanbrugh,  Sir  John,  195. 

W. 

Waller,  Edmund,  144, 145. 
Walpole.  Horace,  371. 
Walton,  Izaak.  17S.  179. 
Wart  on.  Joseph,  280. 
Waiton,  Thomas,  280. 
Webster,  John,  124, 125. 
Whately,         Archbishop, 

354,  355. 
Whewell,    William,     360, 

361. 
Wilson,  John,  364,365. 
Wither,  George,  147. 
Wordsworth,        William, 

327-331. 
Wy.irt,  Sir  Thomas,  67,  68. 
W\rherlev,  William,  193. 
Wyclifle,  John,  61,  62. 


Young,  Edward,  825,  226. 


TO    THE    AMERICAN    LITERATURE. 


Abbott,  Jacob,  443  ;  J.  S. 

C,  443. 
Adams,  Hannah,  416. 
Adams,  John,  411. 
Agassi z,  Louis,  449. 
Alcott,  A.  B.,  448. 
Alcott,  Louisa  M.,  473. 
Aldrich,  T.  B.,  468-469. 
Andrews,  John,  416. 
Arnold,  George,  458. 
Audubon,  J.  J.,  449. 

B. 

Baker,  W.  M.,  462,  463. 

Bancroft,  George,  444. 

Barlow,  Joel,  415. 

Barnes,  Albert,  475. 

Beecher,  Lyman,  417. 

Beecher,  H.  W..  475. 

Bellows,  H.  W.,  417. 

Beverley,  Robert,"401. 

Bishop,  W.  H.,  468. 

Blair,  James,  401. 

Bow  ditch,  N.,  449. 

Bowne,  Borden  S.,  475. 

Boyesen,  H.  H.,  472. 

Bracken rid?e,  H.  H.,  411. 

Bradford,  Gov.,  394. 

Bradstreet,  Mrs.  Anne, 
397-398. 

Brown,  C.  Brockden,  415- 
416. 

Browne,  C.  F.,459. 

Brooks,  Phillips,  475. 

Bryant,  W.  G,  427-428. 

Burnett,  Frances  Hodg- 
son, 470. 

Bushnell,  Horace,  591. 

Butler,  W.  A.,  454-455. 

C. 

Cable,  G.  W.,  469-470. 
Calef,  Robert.  400. 
Calhoun,  J.  C,  414,  422. 
Carey,  H.  C,  443. 
Carleton,  W.  M.,  460. 
Cary,    Alice   and  Phoebe, 

434. 
Champney,   Mrs.    L.   W., 

473. 


Channing,  W.  E.,  417. 

Child,  Mrs.  L.  M.,  438-439. 

Choate,  Rufus,  442. 

Church,  Benjamin,  400. 

Clap,  Thomas,  401. 

Clarke,  James  Freeman, 
417. 

Clemens,  S.  L.,  459-460. 

Colonial  Period  of  Ameri- 
can Literature,  392-407. 

Cook,  J.  Esten,  439. 

Cooke,  Rose  Terry,  473. 

Cooper,  J.  F.,  424-425. 

Colden,  Cadwallader,  400- 
401. 

Conant,  Dr.  T.  J.,  475. 

Cotton,  John,  395-396. 

Cranch,  C.  P.,  434. 

Crawford,  F.  M.,  472^73. 

Curtis,  G.  W.,  438. 


Dana,  R.  H.,  426-427. 
Dale,  J.  S.  of,  469. 
Davis,  Rebecca  Harding, 

472. 
Dennie,  Joseph,  418. 
Derby,  G.  H.,  459. 
Dickinson,  Jonathan,  401. 
Dodge,  M.  A.,  455. 
Drake,  J.  R.,  423. 
Draper,  J.  W.,  443. 
Dwight,  Timothy,  415. 


Edwards,  Jonathan,  402- 

404. 
Esjgleston,  Edward,  463. 
Eliot,  John.  397. 
Eliot,  Samuel,  443. 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  446,  448. 
Everett,  Edward,  442. 


Fanny    Fern.     See    Mrs. 

James  Parton. 
Finney,  President,  475. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  404- 

407. 
Frenean,  Philip,  415. 


Fuller,  Margaret.    See  Os- 
soli. 


Garrison-Wm.  Lloyd,  442. 
Greeley,  Horace,  443. 
Greene,  G.  W.,  443. 
Griffin,  Dr.,  416. 


H. 

H.  H.    See  Jackson,  Mra. 

Wm.  S. 
Hale,  E.  E.,  451. 
Hall,  John,  475. 
Halleck,  Fitz  Greene,  423. 
Halpine,  C.  G.,  459. 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  410. 
Harris,  J.  C.  473. 
Harte,  Francis  Bret,  457- 

458. 
Hawthorne,  Julian,  470. 
Hawthorne,       Nathaniel, 

436-438. 
Hay,  John,  460. 
Hickok,  Laurens  S.,475. 
Higginson,  T.  W.,  453. 
Hildreth.  R.,  443-444. 
Hodge,  Charles,  475. 
Hoffman,  C.  F.,  418. 
Hooker,  Thomas,  394-395. 
Holland,    J.    G.,    450-451, 

476. 
Holmes,  Abiel,  416. 
Holmes,  O.  W.,  433-434. 
Hopkins,  Mark,  417,  475. 
Hopkinson,  Francis,  411. 
Howells,  W.  D.,  465-466. 
Hudson,  H.  N.,  449. 
Humorists,  American,  458. 


Influences  Attending  the 
Development  of  Ameri- 
can Literature,  389-391. 

Irving,  Washington,  419- 
422. 

J. 

Jackson.  Mrs.  Wm.  S.,  472. 


480 


INDEX    TO    AMERICAN    LITERATURE, 


James,  Henry,  475. 
James,  Henry,  Jr.,  466-467. 
Jefferson,    Thomas,    410- 

411. 
Jones,  Hugh,  401. 


Kennedy,  J.  P.,  439. 
Kent,  Chancellor,  443. 
Key,  Francis  S.,  427. 
Kirk,  J.  F.,  443. 
Knickerbocker  Magazine, 
418. 


Lanier,  Sidney,  435. 
Larcom,  Lucy,  473. 
Lathrop,  G.  P.,  467. 
Leland,  C.  G.,458. 
Lewis,  Prof.  Tayler,  475. 
Lippincott,  Sara  J.,  439. 
Livingston,  Wm.,  411. 
Locke,  D.  R.,  458. 
Lodge,  II.  C,  443. 
Logan,  James,  400. 
Lonjrfellow,  H.  W.,  429- 

432. 
Lossing,  B.  J.,  443. 
Lowell,  J.  R.,  440-442. 

M. 

Madison,  James,  411. 
Marsh,  G.  P.,  448-449. 
Marsh,  James,  475. 
Marshall,   Chief    Justice, 

416. 
Mather,  Richard,  Increase 

and  Cotton,  39S-400. 
McCoeb,  .lames,  475. 
Miller,  G\H.  (Joaquin),  457. 
Mitchell,  D.  G.,  438. 
Monroe,  James,  ill. 
Morris,  G,  P.,  427. 
Morse,  Dr.,  416. 
Motley.  .1    L.,  444. 
Muhlenberg,  W.  A.,  427. 

N. 

Nasby,  Petroleum  V.  See 
Locke.  I).    \[. 

National  Period  of  Ameri- 
can Literal ure,  413,  et 
sea. 

NVwel!,  K.  II  .  i:>!». 

Newspaper,  First  Relig- 
ious, 41(i. 

Norton,  Andrews,  416. 


P. 

Palfrey,  J.  G.,  443. 
Parker,  Theodore,  417. 
Parkman,  Francis,  443. 
Parton,  Mrs.  James,  439. 
Paulding,  J.  K.,  419,  422. 
Payne,  John  Howard,  427. 
Peabody,  A.  P.,  417. 
Percival,  J.  G.,  427. 
Perry,  Nora,  473. 
Phelps.  E.  S..  471. 
Piatt,  J.  J.,  435;  S.  M.  B., 

435. 
Pierce,  449. 
Pinckney,  E.  C,  427. 
Poe,  E.  A.,  428-429. 
Porter,  Noah,  475. 
Prentiss,  G.  D.,459. 
Prescott,  W.  H.,  444. 


R. 

Ramsay,  David,  412,  416. 
Review,  North  American, 

426. 
Revolution,  Influence   of 

on  American  Literature, 

406-409. 
Roe,  E.  P.,  451,  476. 
Rush,  Benjamin,  412. 


S. 

Sandys,  George,  394. 
Saxe,  John  G.,  454. 
Sehaff.  Philip.  475. 
Sedgwick,  C.  M,  439. 
Seward,  W .  II.,  442. 
Shedd,  W.  G.  T.,  475. 
Shillaber.  B.  P.,  459. 
Simms.  \V.  G,  488. 
Smith,  John.  888-881 
Smith,  Beba,  459. 
Sparks,.!.  448. 
Spofl'ord,  II.  P.,  470-171. 
Bpragne,  Charles.  427. 
Spragne,  Mis-.  408. 
S< dm. in.  E.  C,  454. 
Stephens,  A.  H.,443. 
Stiles,  Ezra,  409. 
Stockton,  F.R.,  468. 
Stoddard,  K.  II.,  454;  E. 

D.  B..  nil   (68. 
Storra,  R.  8  .  I 

Story,  W.  W.,  431-435. 

Btowe,  H.  B.,  688-461 

Stuart.  Moses,  416. 
Sumnsr,  Charles,  442. 


Taylor,  Bayard,  452-453. 
Taylor,  W.  M.,  475. 
Taylor,  N.  W.,  475. 
Terhune,  M.  V.,  451. 
Thaxter,  Celia,  455. 
Thomas,  Edith,  473. 
Thompson,  Benjamin,  400. 
Thoreau,  H.  D.,  448 
Ticknor,  G.  T.,  449. 
Tourgee.  A.  W,  464. 
Trowbridge,  J.  T.,  464. 
Trumbull,  John,  412. 
Tudor,  William,  426. 
Twain,  Mark.    See  Clem- 
ens. 
Tyler,  Royal,  418. 

U. 
Upham,  Thomas  C,  475. 


Verplanck,  G.  C,  419,  422. 
Very,  Jones,  448. 


W. 

Ware,  Henry,  416. 

Ware,  Wm.,439. 

Ward,      Artemus.        Se$ 

Browne. 

Warner,  C.  D.,  468. 
Warner,  The  Misses,  439. 
Washington,  George,  411. 
Webster,  Daniel,  414,  44  J. 
Webster,  Noah,  449. 
Wrheaton,  Henry,  443. 
Whipple,  E.  P,  449. 
White,  K.  G.,  449. 
Whitman,  Walter,  456-487 
Whitney,  A  D.  T  . 
Whitney,  W.  D.,  148  461 
Whittier,  J   G.,489  188. 
Wilde,  u.  ii.,  4r7. 
William-.  Roger,  .!'.»6-397. 
Willis.  N.  P.,  487. 
Wilson,  Benrj .  n  8> 
Winthrop,  Goi 
Winthrop,  Theodore,  462. 
Wirt.  Wm.,416 
WitherspooD,  John,  686. 
W'oieott.  Roger,  wk>. 
Woodworth,  8 

Woods.  Leonard,  416. 
Woolsev.  Dr.. 
Woolson,  0.  P.,  471-478. 

Worcester,  Josepb,  816. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


iiikiMf  §3  yiw 


OCT  1  4  RECO 


LD  21-100m-7,'52(A2528sl6)476 


Prof.  Patterson  baa  spent  about  2  years  in  preparing  this  book.  It  is  an 
effort  t<>  make  the  study  of  Grammar  attractive,  and  to  embody  that  which  iB 
really  good  in  thfl  Language  Lew  OB  System  with  the  older  and  more  rigid 
rules  of  Grammar.  We  believe  that  the  effort  h.is  been  successful,  and  that 
this  i  8  the  best  teaching  boo/c  on  this  subject  <•«•«/•  published. 


VB  36984 


Sheldon  &  Company's  TextSooks. 

DR.  AVERY'S   PHYSICAL  SCIENCE  SERIES. 
First     Principles    of    Natural     Philosophy,      For 

Common  Schools. 

This  is  a  successful  attempt  to  meet  the  wants  of  schools  which  need  a 
thoroughly  good  book  but  cannot  give  to  the  subject  as  much  time  as  is  desir- 
able for  the  mastery  of  The  Elements  of  Natural  Philosophy. 

The  language  and  all  the  requirements  of  the  book  are  adapted  to  the 
capacities  of  young  pupils.  At  the  same  time  it  teaches  the  subject  thor- 
oughly. 


R55961 


!ept 


Elemeit*' 

ai 

This  ii 
of  the  Scie 
devoted  to 
judges,  th 

The  ch 
proval  fro 
other  chaj 

Tte  tyi 
ber,  and  al 
make  this 

The  E< 
By  El 

NatimL    x  imusupny 
Wood  Engravings. 

We  claim  that  this  is  the  best  book  published  on  ChemUtry  for  School  use. 

It  is  the  most  elegantly  illustrated  text-book  on  Chemistry  that  has  been  pub* 
lished  for  Schools. 

Prom  the  wonderful  success  which  "Avery's  Natural  Philosophy1'  has 
secured  (having  been  adopted  within  the  first  year  after  its  publication  in 
over  two  hundred  of  the  leading  cities  and  schools  of  this  country,  and  being 
generally  admitted  to  be  the  leading  school  text-book  on  this  subject),  it  is 
but  natural  that  both  the  public  and  the  publishers  should  expect  that  his 
Chemistry  woufd  be  a  text-book  of  very  unusual  excellence. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

illustrated    by  nearly   two    hundred 


